MOSCOW: A blast at an explosives factory in the central Russian region of Samara killed six people and injured two others, Russian authorities said on Friday.

The explosion occurred at the Promsintez plant in the city of Chapayevsk, Russia’s industrial safety watchdog, Rostekhnadzor, said.

Six people died and another two received injuries during repair work on a section of a nitrogen pipeline, the watchdog said in a statement.

Alexander Khinshtein, a lawmaker representing the region of Samara, said the accident happened during welding works. Citing preliminary information, he said on messaging app Telegram that the pipes could have contained the traces of explosives.

Promsintez is one of the main manufacturers of industrial explosives in Russia and the former Soviet Union.

The company employs 1,300 people and supplies the mining and oil and gas sector, according to its website.

The company that owns the factory was created in 1997, but the plant dates back to pre-revolutionary Russia, founded by the country’s last tsar, Nicholas II, in 1911.

Published in Dawn, July 8th, 2023