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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Will Stewart & Dave Burke

Russian arms depot in Siberia rocked by new explosions

Explosions have been reported at a Russian arms depot, with five people believed to be injured.

Interfax News reports people living close to the base in Achinsk were evacuated due to exploding shells.

The latest blast comes four days after another series of blasts killed one and injured a further 13.

A fire broke out following the latest explosions at the site in the Krasnoyarsk region, TASS reported.

Dramatic footage shows a large blast fill the Siberian sky.

The latest explosions comes hours after a radiation leak which killed two people and injured six more - which could have been triggered during tests of Vladmir Putin's 6,000mph hypersonic missile.

It is believed the Russian leader authorised a test launch of the lethal Zircon projectile.

But an accident saw radiation levels sore to 20 times above the normal level in a town 18 miles away from the launch site.

Moscow has thrown a veil of secrecy over the incident yesterday amid reports of “panic” and “hysteria” among residents.

It has denied the deaths were anything to do with missile testing.

The accident was believed to have been caused by the explosion of a liquid-propellant rocket engine and subsequent fire believed to have been on a vessel, possible a barge.

The latest blast comes hours after a radiation leak which killed two people (Mash)

The Zircon - or Tsirkon - with its Mach 8 missile has been identified by Moscow’s state-controlled TV as Putin’s weapon of choice to wipe out American cities in the event of nuclear war.

Tests were reportedly due to take place later this year, but there was no official confirmation that the Zircon was involved in yesterday’s incident at a base used for virtually all of Russia's naval missile tests.

The radiation spike caused “mass hysteria” among residents when the radiation rumours were reported by a local radio station in Severodvinsk.

And a video emerged showing the wounded being transported by helicopter to a regional hospital in Arkhangelsk.

Residents rushed to buy iodine-containing medicines but many pharmacies quickly ran out of supplies.

The Russian health ministry denied any medical concerns among the general population after claims of a radiation spike.

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