MOSCOW, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- At least 52 people have been injured so far in a blast at an optical-mechanical plant in the city of Sergiev Posad in the Moscow region on Wednesday, local authorities said.
According to the Governor of Moscow Region Andrei Vorobiev, the explosion happened at around 10:40 a.m. local time at a pyrotechnics warehouse, which was being rented out on the optical-mechanical plant's territory by a private company.
Vorobiev said people have been evacuated from all the buildings and workshops of the plant, as well as from a kindergarten close to the factory. He also said that a sport complex near the plant had been damaged, as well as windows in nearby residential buildings.
Local media, citing a State Duma deputy, suggested that the blast could have occurred due to a "violation of technological processes."
In response, Russia's Investigative Committee has initiated a criminal case into the incident.
Produced by Xinhua Global Service
