FILE PHOTO © Facebook / Rosatom Global
Reuters: U.S.-based experts suspect Russia blast involved nuclear-powered missile
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S.-based nuclear experts said on Friday they suspected an accidental blast and radiation release in northern Russia this week occurred during the testing of a nuclear-powered cruise missile vaunted by President Vladimir Putin last year.
The Russian Ministry of Defense, quoted by state-run news outlets, said that two people died and six were injured on Thursday in an explosion of what it called a liquid propellant rocket engine. No dangerous substances were released, it said. Russia’s state nuclear agency Rosatom said early on Saturday that five of its staff members died.
A spokeswoman for Severodvinsk, a city of 185,000 near the test site in the Arkhangelsk region, was quoted in a statement on the municipal website as saying that a “short-term” spike in background radiation was recorded at noon Thursday. The statement was not on the site on Friday.
The Russian Embassy did not immediately respond for comment.
Read more ....
WNU editor: The death toll from this accident has risen .... Russia's Rosatom Says 5 Employees Were Killed in Accident at Military Range in Arkhangelsk Region (Sputnik).
More News On Experts Believing That The Russian Blast Involved A Nuclear-Powered Missile
Experimental ‘isotope & liquid-propellant’ engine blast kills 5 Russian nuclear experts – Rosatom -- RT
Russia Admits Mysterious Missile Engine Explosion Involved A Nuclear 'Isotope Power Source' -- Warzone/The Drive
Panic Buying And Toxic Rocket Fuel: What Exactly Happened At A Russian Missile Test Site? -- RFE