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Blasts at artillery depot in Primorye stop, residents of nearby villages returning home

A Be-200 plane of the ministry dropped twice water on Saturday on the seat of fire at the depot
Photo ITAR-TASS
Photo ITAR-TASS

VLADIVOSTOK, May 19 (Itar-Tass) — Residents of the four villages of Sungach, Dukhovskoye, Novorusanovka and Zelenodolye, evacuated over a fire at an artillery depot in the Primorye Territory, started returning home.

Blasts at the depot stopped, and there is no threat to the above nearby villages, Itar-Tass learnt at the press service of the Primorye branch of the Russian Ministry for Emergencies.

A Be-200 plane of the ministry dropped twice water on Saturday on the seat of fire at the depot. There are over 740 specialists and 160 units of machinery in the area of the incident. Following the operation of aviation, they will move into the grounds of the depot to put out completely the fire and to demine the surrounding area.

Governor of the Primorye Territory Vladimir Miklushevsky, using an armoured carrier of the Defence Ministry, could come to the depot grounds on Saturday and to assess personally the damage. The governor also met residents of damaged villages.

The fire at the depot of 100mm artillery shells erupted on Friday at 17.20 local time seven kilometres east of the village of Sungach and 280 kilometres north-east of Vladivostok. According to preliminary data, two servicemen received light injuries.

All in all, 1,800 people were evacuated from the villages of Sungach, Dukhovskoye, Novorussanovka and Zelenodolskoye.