Investigative Committee Launches Probe Into Deadly Fireworks Blast Outside St. Petersburg

Russia's Investigative Committee said Friday it had opened a criminal investigation into an explosion at a fireworks factory outside St. Petersburg that killed at least one person.

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th October, 2018) Russia's Investigative Committee said Friday it had opened a criminal investigation into an explosion at a fireworks factory outside St. Petersburg that killed at least one person.

"A criminal case has been opened over the violation of safety rules at explosion-prone facilities, which resulted in the death of a person by negligence," the committee said in a statement.

"One worker died in the explosion, another five people were taken to hospital, two of them are in a serious condition," the statement said.

The explosion occurred earlier in the day at the Avangard fireworks factory in the Gatchina district of the Leningrad region. According to earlier reports by local emergencies services, the entire four-floor building collapsed and at least two people were killed, while several others could still be under the rubble.