A technical fault is believed to have caused a large explosion at an ammunition depot in Russia’s Samara region, Ria Novosti reports. The blast is near the small town of Chapaevsk, and occured around 7pm local time.
The Associated Press reports that 30 people were injured in the blast.
Russia Today says that 13 million shells are stored at the depot, and local people are being evacuated. A local police chief told RT that it was not possible to get close to the depot due to the explosions.
One video posted to Russian social network VK appears to show the blast:
Other photos tweeted by Russian users appear to show smoke after the explosion:
На Ново-Садовой рядом с Оврагом подпольщиков какой-то кошмар. Надеюсь, пожарники уже работают.#Самара#пожарpic.twitter.com/NwbcImIx90
— Заика Сергей (@energo_young) June 18, 2013
БАБАХ! ВЗРЫВЫ ВЗРЫВЫ!!! ПАНИКА ПАНИКА! ЧАПАЕВСК В ОГНЕ!!!!! #взрывы#чапаевск#взрывpic.twitter.com/kVQKmCYADj
— Artemyi (@4ipzhe) June 18, 2013
This video appears to show the explosion from afar:
We will be updating this post as we find out more...