Explosions at military base near Moscow injure four, governor says

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MOSCOW (Reuters) -Shells exploded at a military base east of Moscow on Tuesday, injuring four people and prompting the evacuation of about 450 people, the regional governor said.

Alexander Avdeev, governor of Vladimir Region, wrote on Telegram that ammunition had caught fire and shells had exploded at a storage area of the base in the region’s Kirzhach District.

The Defence Ministry said earlier the fire had been caused by a breach of safety requirements and had resulted in the detonation of ammunition stored in a warehouse.

A state of emergency was declared and local authorities were working with the Defence and Emergencies Ministries to make the area safe, he said. Three of the injured were being treated in hospital.

Avdeev said the base had been evacuated along with residents of at least seven nearby settlements.

Unverified video published earlier on Telegram channels showed a huge fire ball and clouds of thick smoke rising into the sky.

Baza, a Telegram channel close to security services, said at least 10-11 explosions had occurred and firefighters from neighbouring regions had been called in to contain the blaze.

(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Lucy Papachristou; Editing by Alexandra Hudson, Ron Popeski and Sandra Maler)