MOSCOW, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Three people were killed Friday in an explosion at the Avangard industrial plant in the western Russian city of Sterlitamak, local authorities said Saturday.
"Unfortunately, three people have died, all of them are women," said Radiy Khabirov, head of Russia's Bashkortostan Republic.
"It is an enterprise with special working conditions. It deals with explosives. As a result of a fairly powerful explosion, one of the buildings was destroyed," Khabirov wrote in a post on Telegram.
He added that all those trapped have been rescued and five people were hospitalized with two in serious condition.
The cause of the explosion is under investigation, he said, ruling out the possibility of a drone attack. Enditem