A man and his eight-year-old daughter were killed in an explosion during testing at the Perm National Research Polytechnic University in the Russian city of Perm, the university and officials said Thursday.
“An explosion occurred during testing at a scientific equipment stand in a separate building on the campus,” the university said in a statement.
“The incident was caused by the failure of a turbine wheel, whose fragments breached the protective barriers, resulting in injuries,” it added. Investigators described it as “hydraulic stand depressurization” at the university lab.
The victims were identified as the head of a company that manufactures the tested equipment and his underage daughter. Authorities are investigating why the child was present at the site in violation of safety protocols, the university said.
It did not provide either the victims’ or the company’s names, but underscored that he was not a university employee.
Three other company workers were hospitalized in stable condition, the regional health ministry told the local news outlet 59.ru.
Investigators said the blast occurred at a university hangar, which is rented out to outside companies for equipment testing. The outlet reported that the hangar was located near the university’s aerospace faculty building.
Russia’s Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, said it opened a criminal case into death by negligence.
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