Blaze at Russia's Amur Gas Chemical Complex kills 15 workers
A fire at the Amur Gas Chemical Complex in Russia's Far East has killed 15 workers, including one Russian and 14 foreign nationals.
A blaze at the Amur Gas Chemical Complex in Russia's Far East has killed at least 15 people, the company operating the facility confirmed on Thursday. All of the deceased were employees at the site, which is located in the Amur region near the Chinese border.
The fire broke out on Tuesday, with video shared on social media showing workers fleeing the scene. The company said one Russian citizen and 14 foreigners were among the dead, though it did not provide further details on the nationalities. Earlier, on Wednesday, it had reported recovering the bodies of one Russian and six Chinese citizens.
The Amur Gas Chemical Complex is a joint venture between China's state-owned oil and gas firm Sinopec and Russian petrochemical company Sibur. The facility is still under construction and was scheduled to begin operations in early 2027. It is designed to be one of the world's largest producers of polyethylene and polypropylene, with a combined annual capacity of 2.7 million tonnes.
Russia's Investigative Committee has launched an inquiry into the cause of the fire and any potential violations of safety regulations. Preliminary investigations suggest the fire started in an auxiliary process area, and the main equipment was not damaged. The Chinese consulate has dispatched a team to the site, according to the Global Times. Sinopec had not responded to requests for comment at the time of reporting.