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Ust-Luga Port Explosion Kills 3 Foreigners, Media Reports

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An explosion at northwestern Russia’s port of Ust-Luga has killed three citizens of Serbia and Uzbekistan, local media reported Friday, adding that five more people were injured.

Unidentified authorities told state news agencies the three deaths and five injuries occurred as a result of an accident during equipment testing at a gas complex in the Leningrad region’s Kingiseppsky District, which is home to the port.

District Head Viktor Tolkachyov told the outlet 47news.ru that “investigative bodies are working” at the site without providing any details.

The outlet, citing unidentified sources, reported that the accident was due to a gas explosion and that there did not appear to be signs of “sabotage.”

Last month, the FSB security service said it thwarted an attempted “terrorist attack” using magnetic explosives attached to the hull of a tanker ship that docked at Ust-Luga after arriving from Belgium.

According to 47news.ru, three of the five injured men aged 20, 39 and 40 were in critical condition. One of the two others, a 32-year-old man, is reportedly a native of India.

The Baltic Sea port of Ust-Luga has been a regular target of Ukrainian drone attacks since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began.

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