Russian authorities open criminal case as gas-air explosion injures 36

Moscow, Aug 9 A gas-air mixture explosion rocked a brick building in Sterlitamak, Russia's Bashkortostan Republic, on Saturday, injuring 36 people, said Alexei Kuznetsov, aide to Russia's Minister of Health Mikhail Murashko.

"As of now, 36 people have been injured, 22 of whom have been hospitalised, with the exact number still being determined," the regional investigators' statement said.

Earlier reports noted that 27 people were hospitalised after the explosion at the Bashkir Soda Company.

According to the press service of the company, the explosion was caused by a pipeline leak during preparations for a scheduled shutdown for major repairs at the vinyl chloride-polyvinyl chloride complex, Xinhua news agency reported.

"There is no threat to the population's life and health. Continuous monitoring of environmental quality has been organised in the adjacent area. All those injured who were working in the immediate vicinity at the time of the incident received necessary emergency assistance on site and were immediately taken to medical institutions for specialised care. There are no fatalities," it said.

According to the Bashkortostan branch of Russia's Emergencies Ministry, no fire followed the blast, and 42 personnel, along with 15 pieces of equipment, were deployed for the response effort.

The regional Investigation Department of the Russian Investigative Committee announced it has opened a criminal case over the gas-air mixture explosion at the Bashkiria plant, charging violations of industrial safety requirements for hazardous production facilities.

Bashkortostan is a Russian federal subject about 1,200 km east of Moscow.

Last month, a gas explosion occurred at a 10-story apartment building, destroying the corner entrance from the seventh to the tenth floor. The findings suggested that the preliminary cause of this explosion was a gas leak, local authorities said.

Rescuers recovered the bodies following a gas explosion in an apartment building in Russia's Saratov region, Yuri Yurin, head of the regional security department said.

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