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Firefighting work at the scene of an accident in the Republic of Tuva in Siberia
Photo: SNA / IMAGO
More than 20 people were injured in an explosion at a coal-fired power plant in the Russian republic of Tuva in Siberia.
“We have currently identified 21 people injured,” a spokesman for the regional government told the Interfax news agency on Wednesday.
At least six people were seriously injured and taken to hospital by plane.
The governor of Tuva, Vladislav Khovalyg, has declared a state of emergency in the region because of the accident.
According to him, there are no dead or missing people; according to different reports, three people are still being sought.
According to media reports, the cause of the fire, which led to an explosion, is still unclear.
The Ria Novosti news agency reported heavy smoke on site.
The flames have now been extinguished, it was said.
Numerous breakdowns in power plants
The thermal power plant was badly damaged by the fire.
In the town of Schagonar, with 12,000 inhabitants, the heat supply was switched off due to the accident, despite winter temperatures.
The incident is one of a series of sometimes serious failures of municipal infrastructure in Russia.
A record-breaking number of major breakdowns in power plants were reported across the country this winter, with district heating or hot water pipes freezing or bursting.
As early as mid-February, Novaya Gazeta counted three million Russians who had been affected by such incidents.
The background is a lack of investment in infrastructure in the largest country in the world, which this year is investing around a third of its budget in the military against the backdrop of its war of aggression against Ukraine.