A powerful explosion has rocked an optical equipment factory in the town of Sergiyev Posad outside of Moscow, with evacuation efforts underway, the local authorities have said.
The incident took place at the Zagorsk Optical-Mechanical Plant, which designs and produces optical and electronic equipment for military purposes, manufacturing, and healthcare. A TASS source in the emergency services said that preliminary data indicates that the explosion occurred in the pyrotechnics warehouse. Various media reports say that up to 25 people have been injured.
According to TASS, mass evacuation efforts have been announced from all the facilities on the premises of the factory.
Numerous clips shared by local media show a large plume of smoke towering over nearby buildings and rising from the factory.
A source in the emergency services told RIA Novosti that the explosion took place due to a violation of technical procedures.
Meanwhile, the Mash Telegram channel shared footage from a nearby security camera that captured the moment of the explosion, showing a fireball and a plume of smoke rising in the distance. It claimed, citing eyewitnesses, that the blast shattered windows in at least ten nearby buildings, with ceilings collapsing in office buildings.
BAZA Telegram channel suggested that some people might be trapped under the rubble, adding that the emergency services had arrived on the scene and that traffic near the factory had been closed.
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