Fire at a Russian plant claimed 11 lives and injured 130

• A fire at a plant in Ryazan claimed the lives of 11 individuals.
• 130 people received injuries, with 29 of them remaining in hospitals.
• A day of mourning has been announced in the region, and entertainment events have been canceled.

Reports state that ABC News, Asharq Al-Awsat, Asharq Al-Awsat.

MOSCOW -- A fire at an industrial plant in the Russian region of Ryazan occurred on Saturday, claiming the lives of 11 people and injuring 130, according to Russian officials.

The fire broke out at the Elastik plant in the Shilovsky district, approximately 250 kilometers (155 miles) southeast of Moscow. Rescue teams continued searching under the rubble and late Saturday evening found two more bodies, reported the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia.

According to information from the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti, the fire started in the workshop where rubber products are manufactured, which triggered an explosion.

Among the injured, 29 people remained in hospitals on Saturday: 13 in Ryazan and 16 were transferred to medical facilities in Moscow.

The regional authorities reported that people were rescued from under the rubble, while investigators began preliminary inquiries into the causes of the fire.

The local authorities announced Monday as a day of mourning in the Ryazan region.
"Events will be canceled throughout the region. Cultural institutions, telecommunication companies, and organizations have been instructed to suspend entertainment events," stated the governor of the Ryazan region, Pavel Malkov, in a statement on Telegram.

This is already the second deadly explosion at the Elastik plant in less than four years. In July 2021, as a result of an explosion in the workshop, which belonged to a manufacturer of rubber products "Razryad", 17 people were killed.

Tags: Russia