MOSCOW, December 15. /TASS/. The cruise missile that fell Tuesday near the city of Arkhangelsk in northern Russia had been tested by the Moscow Region-based NPO Mashinostroyeniya rocket design bureau, Russia’s Defense Ministry told journalists.
"Industry specialists [at NPO Mashinostroyeniya] held test firing of a cruise missile at a Russian Defense Ministry range," the ministry’s statement said.
"After the firing, as a result of an abnormal situation, the missile diverged from the set trajectory and fell near the inhabited locality of Nenoksa [Arkhangelsk Region]. A commission of industry representatives is working at the place where the missile fell," the statement said.
"No facilities were destroyed and no one was injured as a result of the incident," it said.
Earlier, a source in regional law enforcement structures said a missile fell on a residential building during tests at the navy’s Nenoksa range. No one was injured. According to local media, the roof and four apartments in a three-story house were damaged.
Northern Fleet spokesman Vadim Serga earlier told TASS that the navy and Defense Ministry did not fire any rockets today.