MOSCOW, March 31 (Reuters) - Firefighters are battling to contain a fire at large petrochemicals plant in Russia's Tatarstan region, the local mayor said on Tuesday, and the aviation regulator said
Fire at Russian petrochemicals plant kills at least three
Deadly Fire at Nizhnekamskneftekhim Complex in Tatarstan
Incident Overview
MOSCOW, March 31 (Reuters) - A large fire broke out at a petrochemicals plant in Russia's Tatarstan region on Tuesday, killing at least three people, including a firefighter, and injuring dozens.
Casualties and Injuries
Sibur, the company that owns the sprawling Nizhnekamskneftekhim complex, said two employees had been killed in the accident, with 68 injured. Twenty-one people remained hospitalized, three in serious condition.
The branch of Russia's Emergencies Ministry in Tatarstan said one firefighter died from injuries sustained from a nearby explosion. Three others were injured.
Cause and Immediate Response
Explosion Details
Sibur said a gas mixture had exploded following a loss of pressure at a facility producing synthetic rubber and plastics. It said it was not clear what had caused the gas to ignite.
Impact on Production
Sibur CEO Mikhail Karasalov said in a statement that production at the plant would be reduced by about 6% of its annual output of 180,000 metric tons "but the focus at this time is on people, not the number of tons."
Fire Containment and Environmental Safety
Firefighters had contained the blaze and there was no risk of it spreading, the company said, adding specialists were checking air quality and had not detected any threats to the environment or local residents.
Emergency Measures and Local Impact
Medical and Aviation Response
The Emergencies Ministry, in a statement quoted by news agencies, said an aircraft had been dispatched from Moscow to Nizhnekamsk, about 1,000 km (620 miles) to the east to bring the injured to the capital for treatment.
Russia's aviation regulator briefly imposed restrictions at the Nizhnekamsk airport.
Damage to Local Infrastructure
Radmir Belyaev, the local mayor, said in a statement that windows had been blown out in several apartment blocks.
Eyewitness Accounts
Unconfirmed images on social media showed a large plume of smoke billowing into the sky from the complex.
(Reporting by Oksana Kobzeva; writing by Maxim Rodionov and Lucy Papachristou; Editing by William Maclean, Ron Popeski and Chris Reese)
