The death toll from an explosion at a Russian plastics manufacturing plant has risen to 13 people, the Chelyabinsk regional administration said Monday.
The blast occurred last Wednesday night at the Plastmass plant in the town of Kopeysk. The facility, known for producing artillery ammunition for the Russian military, is subject to Western sanctions.
It is unclear whether sabotage or other deliberate action caused the explosion.
Chelyabinsk region Governor Alexei Teksler, however, ruled out the involvement of drone strikes in the deadly incident.
According to the regional administration’s latest update, the bodies of 13 victims have been recovered.
Emergency officials were focused on recovering additional remains and performing a lengthy process of identification, the statement added.
Earlier, Teksler said that 11 people remained unaccounted for. The 13th person’s death presumably brings the number of missing people down to 10.
As of the latest update, four patients remain in the regional hospital, two others were transferred to a federal burn center in Nizhny Novgorod for specialized treatment, while others were being treated on an outpatient basis.
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