Siberian Chemical Plant Explosion Kills Four

(RFE/RL) MOSCOW, August 14, 2007 -- An explosion at a chemical factory in Siberia has killed four workers and injured four more.

An Emergency Ministry spokesman, Viktor Beltsov, says the blast occurred at a factory belonging to Russia's largest PVC manufacturer, Sayanskchimplast, located in Sayansk, in Irkutsk Oblast. The explosion took place during the production of ethylene dichloride, a highly toxic chemical.


Beltsov added that the chemical's release into the air "represented no danger" to residents.


An investigation has been launched into the cause of the blast.


(ITAR-TASS, Interfax, AFP)

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