BLAGOVESHCHENSK, August 25. /TASS/. A fire broke out at the construction site of the Amur Gas Chemical Complex (AGCC) in the Amur Region, the plant’s press service said.

One person was killed and another 123 were injured, 19 of whom were hospitalized. Earlier reports said five people had been hospitalized. The fire has now been contained.

TASS has compiled the key facts about the incident.

Fire at AGCC

- A fire broke out at the AGCC construction site, the plant’s press service said.

- The fire has now been contained.

- To ensure safety and minimize potential damage, plant personnel are shutting down equipment that is currently undergoing commissioning.

- The plant said there is no threat to residents of areas adjacent to the facility.

- There is also no risk of the fire spreading further, while residual process gases are being allowed to burn off under controlled conditions.

- According to preliminary information, the complex’s main equipment was not damaged.

- The extent of the damage and the circumstances surrounding the incident are being determined.

Injured and deceased

- Employees not involved in the emergency response are being moved off the plant premises, the company said earlier.

- The plant’s press service later told reporters that five people, including employees of contractor organizations, had been hospitalized in the city of Svobodny with injuries of varying severity.

- They are currently receiving all necessary medical care.

- The company later reported that one person had been killed and 123 injured, 19 of whom were hospitalized.

- The person killed was a Chinese citizen.

- Their family will receive support, including financial assistance.

- Another 104 people sought medical attention for minor injuries such as cuts and bruises and received treatment.

- A special disaster medicine aircraft carrying leading doctors will be dispatched from Moscow to the Amur Region to assist those injured in the fire at the site.

- Leading specialists from the Sklifosovsky Research Institute, Vishnevsky Research Institute, and other medical centers will be among those arriving.

- Private medical organizations in the region have also been brought in.

Response and investigation

- Air quality is being monitored at the site of the fire, the plant’s press service said.

- The results will be published later on the company’s website and official social media accounts.

- A commission has been established to investigate the causes of the incident.

- The Amur Region branch of Russia’s consumer protection watchdog later reported that no concentrations of harmful substances exceeding maximum permissible levels had been detected in the ambient air.

- A criminal case has been opened under Part 1 of Article 217 of the Russian Criminal Code (violation of industrial safety requirements at hazardous production facilities), the Amur Region Prosecutor’s Office said.

- The Prosecutor’s Office is also overseeing the investigation.

About AGCC

- The Amur Gas Chemical Complex is under construction in Svobodny.

- The plant will become Russia’s largest gas chemical complex.

- Its design capacity is up to 2.7 mln metric tons of basic polymers per year, including various grades of polyethylene and polypropylene.

- The facility is nearing 100% completion.

- According to findings by the Higher School of Economics, the completed project will create around 170,000 new jobs in Russia, including those resulting from the development of polymer processing, with 12,800 of those jobs in the Amur Region.