Open burning on the territory of the Angarsk petrochemical company in the Angarsk urban district of the Irkutsk region has been eliminated. Two people were killed and five others were injured. Seismologists reported a seismic event at the time the fire started.
The message about the fire was received by the Ministry of Emergency Situations at 6:00 local time (01:00 Moscow time). It was localized by 8:18 (3:18 Moscow time) on an area of 2.5 thousand square meters. m, open burning was eliminated by 10:59 (5:59 Moscow time). “Currently, the installation is being poured and cooled, as well as building structures are being dismantled. Upon completion of emergency and recovery measures, a special commission will begin work, ”the Irkutsk department of the Ministry of Emergency Situations said in a statement. Telegram.
A criminal case has been opened, said the governor of the Irkutsk region, Igor Kobzev. According to the Ministry of Health, one victim is being treated in a hospital, four are sent for outpatient treatment. “A survey was carried out in nearby houses. No damage was found,” wrote the head of the region in Telegram.
The Ministry of Emergency Situations does not report explosions at the industrial site, but seismologists recorded it. According to the Baikal branch of the Unified Geophysical Service of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the seismic event occurred at 5:54 (00:54 Moscow time), which approximately corresponds to the time the fire started. “If we use the macroseismic field equation for earthquakes for this event, then the theoretical intensity of seismic vibrations at a distance of 40 km is 2 points, at a distance of 10 km – 4.5 points, at closer distances the intensity may be higher,” the service said. in Telegram. According to seismologists, the explosion was felt in Irkutsk (about 45 km from Angarsk), Markovka (more than 50 km) and other settlements.
According to preliminary information, the reason was “gas contamination of the process plant systems.” The Ministry of Emergency Situations announces the creation of a special commission, the supervisory authorities are conducting an audit. Rospotrebnadzor took atmospheric air samples and sent them to the Center for Hygiene and Epidemiology in the Irkutsk Region for research.