14 people were injured in an explosion in Vladikavkaz.
A powerful explosion occurred at a fireworks warehouse in Vladikavkaz, injuring 14 people, including residents of neighboring houses where the blast wave blew out windows. Rescuers are extinguishing the fire over an area of 800 square meters.
A powerful explosion occurred in a warehouse in Vladikavkaz, reported the head of North Ossetia, Sergei Menyailo.
According to him, a total of 14 people were injured, including two children. The condition of at least four of them is assessed as extremely serious.
One injured child was in a house across from the warehouse where the explosion occurred. Shrapnel fell inside and injured him, Mash Gor reports.
An explosion at a fireworks warehouse in Vladikavkaz damaged nearby houses. Windows were blown out and roofs were destroyed in buildings, Krylia TV Ossetia reports. The preliminary cause of the explosion in Vladikavkaz is expired pyrotechnics. The number of victims has risen to 14, two of whom are children, Mash reports. The batch of fireworks sat for four years after holiday fireworks displays were banned in southern Russia. The company's sales plummeted, and the remaining supplies, intended for sale in neighboring regions, Krasnodar Krai and Rostov Oblast, were stored in a warehouse and detonated today due to the decomposition of chemical components, the report states. The "Caucasian Knot" news outlet has recently reported that Rostov Oblast authorities banned the use of fireworks on November 22, 2023, until March 1, 2024. Some commenters on Rostov-on-Don social media groups supported the decision, while others questioned that it would be implemented. On New Year's Eve 2024, hundreds of fireworks were launched into the skies above Rostov-on-Don, despite the authorities' ban on their use. Those who detonated the pyrotechnics made the task of the military personnel guarding the city more difficult, commenters on a local group stated. They called on authorities to impose a ban not only on the use but also on the sale of fireworks.
"Currently, the area of combustion from the explosion at the warehouses in Vladikavkaz is 650 square meters, and the area of structural collapse is 800 square meters," TASS quotes the ministry as saying.