MOSCOW — An explosion and fire at a gunpowder factory in Russia on Friday killed at least fifteen people, while one person was found missing, regional officials said.

"A fire broke out after a technological process.... seven people died, one was hospitalized and the fate of nine others remains unknown," The Emergency Ministry said in a statement.

The death toll was updated to 15 later on Friday morning, with one person still missing, and one in hospital.

More than 170 firefighters and rescue workers were dispatched to the scene to control the fire. "There is no threat to the population" of the nearby localities, the ministry said.

The premise where the explosion occurred was acquired by Razryad LLC, a private commercial enterprise, from the Federal State Unitary Enterprise Synthetic Fiber Plant "Elastic".

Razryad LLC has a license from Rostekhnadzor for production, storage and use of industrial explosives,' the Ministry of Industry and Trade said.

A Ministry representative added that the management and owners had overall responsibility for compliance with safety requirements at the Razryad LLC and Rostekhnadzor oversaw compliance with these rules at the plant.

The factory is in the Ryazan region, about 270 kilometers southeast of Moscow. Officials are looking at violations of safety procedures or a short circuit among possible causes.

Accidental and deadly explosions or fires are common in Russia, due to the dilapidated infrastructure, or the failure to comply with safety standards.

In December 2020, eleven people died in a fire inside a retirement home in the Urals region. In January 2020, eleven and four people died in separate fires in Tomsk and Moscow in migrant accommodation.

The worst fire in recent years was in 2018, when 64 people died after flames engulfed a shopping center, whose alarm systems and emergency exits were inoperable. — Euronews