A major fire has erupted at a top secret Russian defence research plant, leaving seven people dead and at least 30 injured.
Four military scientists were reportedly forced to jump out of windows from the burning institute in Tver which develops new space and weapons systems.
The blaze was at the Second Central Research Institute of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation.
Initial reports said the fire started on the second floor of the top secret research institute.
The cause was not clear but there were reports of “poisonous bluish-black smoke” and dramatic photos show thick plumes of dark smoke rising from the flames.
It was unclear if there were chemical releases before the fire or as a result of the raging inferno.
Flames quickly spread throughout the building due to the wooden flooring, reports said.
Eyewitnesses report that because of the smoke, people who were in the room could not evacuate and had to jump from the windows.
The death toll was first reported as one but has since risen to seven.
Just hours after the Ministry of Defence fire, a second huge blaze broke out in one of Russia's biggest chemical plants.
Dramatic footage shows smoke billowing from the Dmitrievsky Chemical Plant in the city of Kineshma, around 250 miles east of Moscow.
The site, the largest manufacturer of chemical solvents in the country, is around 950km from the border with Ukraine.
