Russia’s nuclear energy agency has said an explosion that caused radiation levels to spike in the Arkhangelsk region was caused by an accident during a test of an “isotope power source for a liquid-fueled rocket engine”.

In a statement released late on Friday, Rosatom said five of its employees had died as a result of the accident and three more were being treated for burns.

The statement was the first confirmation that the agency was involved in the incident, which briefly drove radiation levels up to 20 times their normal levels in the nearby city of Severodvinsk.

Rosatom’s description of the incident could indicate it was testing the nuclear-powered cruise missile Burevestnik mentioned during a speech by Vladimir Putin last year.

Russia’s ministry of defence first confirmed the explosion on Thursday, saying two people had been killed and six injured in a botched test of a liquid-fueled rocket engine. The injured included ministry employees and civilian contractors.

Rosatom’s statement may indicate that three of those first reported as injured had since died. Despite reports that the wounded had been transported to Moscow for medical care, neither their names nor locations had been confirmed.

The explosion caused radiation levels to rise for about half an hour in Severodvinsk, contradicting official ministry of defence claims that there had been no rise in radiation levels. Severodvinsk removed a statement confirming the spike in radiation levels from its website, saying the ministry was managing the response to the incident.

While local officials urged calm, residents in several cities stocked up on iodine, which is often used to limit the effects of radiation exposure.

Russia also closed a bay in the White Sea to civilian traffic for a month, driving speculation that either the water had been contaminated or that a search operation was being launched. </s> A rocket explosion at a Russian arms depot has left five people dead and three injured, state nuclear corporation Rosatom confirmed.

The blast happened during tests on a liquid propellant rocket engine in the Nyonska test range on early Saturday, reported the RIA news agency.

Rosatom said the injured workers sustained various degrees of burns at the accident and had been taken to special facilities for medical treatment.

The latest blast comes after a radiation leak which killed two people and injured six more - which could have been triggered during tests of Vladmir Putin's 6,000mph hypersonic missile.

A nearby city had reported a rise in radiation levels 20 times above the normal level.

Authorities said they had been forced to shut down part of a bay in the White Sea to shipping as a result.

Local residents have been stocking up iodine used to reduce the effects of radiation exposure after the accident, regional media have reported.

Russia's Ministry of Defence has given few details of the accident.

Although the defence ministry initially said that no harmful chemicals were released into the atmosphere and that radiation levels were unchanged, authorities in the nearby city of Severodvinsk reported what they described as a brief spike in radiation.

No official explanation has been given for why such an accident would cause radiation to spike.

The radiation statement put out by the city of Severodvinsk disappeared from the Internet on Friday without explanation.

An unidentified naval officer quoted by the Kommersant newspaper said the accident could have occurred at a testing site at sea and that the explosion of a rocket could have caused a toxic fuel spill.

Russia media have said that the rocket engine explosion may have occurred at a weapons testing area near the village of Nyonoksa.

Those reports say an area near Nyonoksa is used for tests on weapons, including ballistic and cruise missiles that are used by the Russian navy.

Greenpeace has cited data from the Emergencies Ministry that it said showed radiation levels had risen 20 times above the normal level in Severodvinsk around 30 kilometres (18 miles) from Nyonoksa. </s> In this grab taken from a footage provided by the Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation ROSATOM press service, a Russian military band prepare to attend the funerals of five Russian nuclear engineers killed by a rocket explosion in Sarov, the closed city, located 370 kilometers (230 miles) east of Moscow, which has served as a base for Russia’s nuclear weapons program since the late 1940s, Russia, Monday, Aug. 12, 2019. Russia’s Rosatom state nuclear concern said Thursday’s explosion at a military testing range in northwestern Russia occurred while the engineers were testing a “nuclear isotope power source” for a rocket engine, a tragedy that fueled radiation fears and raised new questions about a secretive weapons program. (Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation ROSATOM via AP)

MOSCOW (AP) — Regional authorities in northwestern Russia say the Russian military has advised residents of a village near a navy testing range to move out following a rocket explosion that killed five nuclear engineers.

The Interfax news agency reported Tuesday that the regional administration based in Severodvinsk said a notice from the military recommended the evacuation due to unspecified activities at the test range.

Officials offered no further details about the advisory for the village of Nyonoksa.

Russia’s state nuclear corporation, Rosatom, has said the engineers were killed Thursday while they were testing a “nuclear isotope power source” for a rocket engine.

Local authorities in Severodvinsk, a city of 183,000, reported a brief spike in radiation levels after the explosion, spooking residents. Officials insist it didn’t pose any health hazards. </s> MOSCOW — Regional authorities in northwestern Russia say the Russian military has advised residents of a village near a navy testing range to move out following a rocket explosion that killed five nuclear engineers.

The Interfax news agency reported Tuesday that the regional administration based in Severodvinsk said a notice from the military recommended the evacuation due to unspecified activities at the test range.

Officials offered no further details about the advisory for the village of Nyonoksa.

Russia’s state nuclear corporation, Rosatom, has said the engineers were killed Thursday while they were testing a “nuclear isotope power source” for a rocket engine.

Local authorities in Severodvinsk, a city of 183,000, reported a brief spike in radiation levels after the explosion, spooking residents. Officials insist it didn’t pose any health hazards. </s> Image copyright Russian Defence Ministry website Image caption A cruise missile test-firing in Russia's Arctic north (file photo)

Five people were killed and three injured following a rocket explosion on an Arctic naval test range in Russia on Thursday, state nuclear company Rosatom confirmed.

Rosatom said the accident occurred during tests on a liquid propellant rocket engine.

The three injured staff members suffered serious burns in the accident.

Authorities had previously said that two people died and six were injured in the blast at the site in Nyonoksa.

The company told Russian media that its engineering and technical team had been working on the "isotope power source" for the propulsion system.

The Nyonoksa site carries out tests for virtually every missile system used by the Russian navy, including sea-launched intercontinental ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and anti-aircraft missiles.

Authorities in Severodvinsk, 47km (29 miles) east of Nyonoksa said that radiation levels shortly after the blast were higher than normal for about 40 minutes but returned to normal.

Locals have rushed to buy medical iodine, with pharmacies' stocks of iodine reported to be running out in the cities of Arkhangelsk and Severodvinsk.

The rush for iodine was reported earlier by a news website for the Arkhangelsk region, 29.ru.

Low-level radiation spike

It also said medics who evacuated the injured at Nyonoksa wore chemical and nuclear protection suits.

There was a rush on iodine stocks during the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Ukraine, which sent a huge plume of radiation across Europe.

On Thursday the Severodvinsk administration reported a 40-minute spike in radiation, which reached 2 microsieverts per hour, then fell back to the normal 0.11 microsieverts. Both levels are too small to cause radiation sickness.

The administration has now deleted its statement online about the spike. The BBC asked officials there why, and they said "because this incident comes under the authority of the defence ministry".

The defence ministry insisted that "there have been no harmful chemicals released into the atmosphere, the radiation levels are normal".

Ammunition dump blaze

It is the second accident involving Russia's military this week.

On Monday, one person was killed and eight others were injured in a blaze at an ammunition dump in Siberia.

Flying munitions damaged a school and a kindergarten in the area. More than 9,500 people were evacuated. </s> MOSCOW (AP) — Thousands of people have attended the burial of five Russian nuclear engineers killed by an explosion during tests of a new rocket.

The engineers, who died on Thursday, were laid to rest Monday in the city of Sarov that hosts Russia's main nuclear weapons research center.

The Defense Ministry initially said the explosion at the navy's testing range in Nyonoksa in the northwestern Arkhangelsk region killed two people and injured a further six, but the state-controlled Rosatom nuclear concern acknowledged later that the blast also killed five of its workers and injured three others.

Rosatom said the explosion occurred while the engineers were testing "a nuclear isotope power source" for a rocket. Local authorities in nearby Severodvinsk reported a brief spike in radiation levels after the explosion. </s> MOSCOW (AP) — Thousands of Russians attended the funerals Monday of five Russian nuclear engineers killed by an explosion as they tested a new rocket, a tragedy that fueled radiation fears and raised new questions about a secretive weapons program.

The engineers, who died Thursday, were laid to rest Monday in Sarov, which hosts Russia's main nuclear weapons research center, where they worked. Flags flew at half-staff in the closed city, located 370 kilometers (230 miles) east of Moscow, which has served as a base for Russia's nuclear weapons program since the late 1940s. The coffins were displayed at Sarov's main square before being driven to a cemetery.

The Defense Ministry initially said the explosion at the navy's testing range in Nyonoksa in the northwestern Arkhangelsk region killed two people and injured six others, but the state-controlled Rosatom nuclear concern acknowledged over the weekend that the blast also killed five of its workers and injured three others.

Rosatom director Alexei Likhachev praised the victims as "true heroes" and "a pride of our country."

"Our further work on new weapons that we will certainly complete will be the best tribute to them," Likhachev said during the funeral, according to Rosatom. "We will fulfill the Motherland's orders and fully protect its security."

Rosatom said the explosion occurred while the engineers were testing a "nuclear isotope power source" for a rocket engine. Local authorities in nearby Severodvinsk reported a brief spike in radiation levels after the explosion, saying it lasted only about 30 minutes and didn't pose any health hazards.

Still, the statement from Severodvinsk's administration came just as the Defense Ministry insisted that no radiation had been released, a claim that drew comparisons to Soviet-era attempts to coverup catastrophes. Spooked residents rushed to buy iodide, which can help limit the damage from exposure to radiation.

Following the explosion, Russian authorities also closed part of Dvina Bay on the White Sea to shipping for a month, in what could be an attempt to prevent outsiders from seeing an operation to recover the missile debris.

Neither the Defense Ministry nor Rosatom mentioned the type of rocket that exploded during the test, saying only that it had liquid propellant.

But Rosatom's mention of a "nuclear isotope power source" led some Russian media to conclude it was the Burevestnik (Petrel), a nuclear-powered cruise missile first revealed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in March 2018 during his state-of-the nation address along with other doomsday weapons.

The U.S. and the Soviet Union pondered nuclear-powered missiles in the 1960s, but they abandoned those projects as too unstable and dangerous.

While presenting the new missile, Putin claimed it will have an unlimited range, allowing it to circle the globe unnoticed, bypassing the enemy's missile defense assets, to strike undetected. The president claimed the missile had successfully undergone the first tests, but observers were skeptical, arguing that such a weapon could be very difficult to handle and harmful to the environment.

Sergei Kirienko, Putin's deputy chief of staff who previously led Rosatom, said at the funeral that the victims were aware of the danger, but "took the risk, realizing that no one else would do the job better than them." He said they would be posthumously awarded with top medals. </s> Russia's nuclear agency on Saturday said an explosion at an Arctic missile testing site had killed five of its staff after the military had put the toll at two.

Earlier, the authorities in a nearby city said the accident had caused a spike in radiation levels but the military denied this.

The accident on Thursday happened during testing of a liquid propellant rocket engine at a missile test site in the far northern Arkhangelsk region.

In a statement, Rosatom said the accident killed five of its staff and injured three, who suffered burns and other injuries.

Rosatom said its staff were providing engineering and technical support for the "isotope power source" of the missile engine.

The military had not described the accident as involving nuclear fuel.

The authorities have released few details of the accident at the Nyonoksa test site on the White Sea, used for testing missiles used in nuclear submarines and ships since the Soviet era.

The defence ministry initially said that six defence ministry employees and a developer were injured while two specialists died of their wounds.

The authorities in Severodvinsk, a city around 30 kilometres (19 miles) away from the test site, said on their website that automatic radiation detection sensors in the city "recorded a brief rise in radiation levels" on Thursday morning.

The post was later taken down.

An official responsible for civil defence, Valentin Magomedov, told TASS state news agency on Thursday that radiation levels rose to 2.0 microsieverts per hour for half an hour from 11:50 am (0850 GMT), before falling sharply.

He said this exceeded the permitted limit of 0.6 microsieverts, TASS reported.

Russian online media published unattributed video that journalists said showed a line of ambulances speeding through Moscow to take the injured to a centre that specialises in the treatment of radiation victims.

Rosatom said that the injured were being treated at a "specialised medical centre."

An expert from Moscow's Institute for Nuclear Research, Boris Zhuikov, told RBK independent news site that isotope power sources are mainly used in spacecraft and are not usually dangerous for people working with them.

"If they are damaged, people who are nearby could be hurt. Isotope sources use various types of fuel: plutonium, promethium or cerium," Zhuikov said.

The radioactivity levels involved are "absolutely not comparable with those during serious accidents at reactors," he added.

The news of the accident prompted residents of Severodvinsk to rush to pharmacies on Thursday to stock up on iodine, which can be taken to stop the thyroid gland absorbing radiation.

"People started to panic. Within a matter of an hour all the iodine and iodine-containing drugs were sold out," pharmacist Yelena Varinskaya told AFP.

The Soviet Union saw the world's worst nuclear accident at Chernobyl in 1986, when the authorities sought to cover up the seriousness of the disaster. </s> Thousands of Russians attended the funerals Monday of five Russian nuclear engineers killed by an explosion as they tested a new rocket engine, a tragedy that fueled radiation fears and raised new questions about a secretive weapons program.

The engineers, who died Thursday, were laid to rest Monday in Sarov, which hosts Russia's main nuclear weapons research center, where they worked. Flags flew at half-staff in the city, located 370 kilometers (230 miles) east of Moscow, which has served as a base for Russia's nuclear weapons program since the late 1940s. The coffins were displayed at Sarov's main square before being driven to a cemetery.

The Defense Ministry initially reported that the explosion at the navy's testing range near the village of Nyonoksa in the northwestern Arkhangelsk region killed two people and injured six others. The state-controlled Rosatom nuclear corporation then said over the weekend that the blast also killed five of its workers and injured three others. It's not clear what the final toll is.

The company said the victims were on a sea platform testing a rocket engine and were thrown into the sea by explosion.

Rosatom director Alexei Likhachev praised the victims as "true heroes" and "pride of our country."

"Our further work on new weapons that we will certainly complete will be the best tribute to them," Likhachev said during the funeral, according to Rosatom. "We will fulfill the Motherland's orders and fully protect its security."

Rosatom said the explosion occurred while the engineers were testing a "nuclear isotope power source" for a rocket engine. Local authorities in nearby Severodvinsk, a city of 183,000, reported a brief spike in radiation levels after the explosion, but said it didn't pose any health hazards.

Still, the statement from Severodvinsk's administration came just as the Defense Ministry insisted that no radiation had been released, a claim that drew comparisons to Soviet-era attempts to cover up catastrophes. Spooked residents rushed to buy iodide, which can help limit the damage from exposure to radiation.

Following the explosion, Russian authorities also closed part of Dvina Bay on the White Sea to shipping for a month, in what could be an attempt to prevent outsiders from seeing an operation to recover the missile debris.

The Severodvinsk city administration said the radiation level rose to 2 microsieverts per hour for about 30 minutes on Thursday before returning to the area's natural level of 0.1 microsieverts per hour. Emergency officials issued a warning to all workers to stay indoors and close the windows.

The radiation level of 2 microsieverts per hour is only slightly higher than the natural background radiation, which could vary between 0.1 and 0.4 microsieverts per hour. It's lower than the cosmic radiation that plane passengers are exposed to on longer haul flights.

Russian environmental groups have urged the government to release details of the radioactive leak, but officials offered no further details.

Neither the Defense Ministry nor Rosatom mentioned the type of rocket that exploded during the test, saying only that it had liquid propellant.

But Rosatom's mention of a "nuclear isotope power source" led some Russian media to conclude it was the Burevestnik (Petrel), a nuclear-powered cruise missile first revealed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in March 2018 during his state-of-the nation address along with other doomsday weapons.

The U.S. and the Soviet Union pondered nuclear-powered missiles in the 1960s, but they abandoned those projects as too unstable and dangerous.

While presenting the new missile, Putin claimed it will have an unlimited range, allowing it to circle the globe unnoticed, bypassing the enemy's missile defense assets to strike undetected. The president claimed the missile had successfully undergone the first tests, but observers were skeptical, arguing that such a weapon could be very difficult to handle and harmful to the environment.

Some reports suggested that previous tests of the Burevestnik missile had been conducted on the barren Arctic archipelago of Novaya Zemlya and the Kapustin Yar testing range in southern Russia before they were moved to Nyonoksa. Moving the tests from unpopulated areas to a range close to a big city may be a reflection of the military's increased confidence in the new weapon.

The Sarov nuclear center director, Valentin Kostyukov, said that the victims tried but failed to prevent the explosion. "We saw that they were trying to regain control over the situation," he said.

Sergei Kirienko, Putin's deputy chief of staff who previously led Rosatom, said at the funeral that the victims were aware of the danger, but "took the risk, realizing that no one else would do the job better than them." He said they would be posthumously awarded with top medals.
Five people are confirmed dead and three injured following an accidental rocket explosion on a naval test range near Severodvinsk, Russia on Thursday August 8th. The rocket used an experimental nuclear isotope liquid fuel source, causing a brief localized spike in radiation. 9500 nearby residents were evacuated.