Fire kills 15 at Russian explosives factory

Fifteen people died and one person was missing after a fire broke out at a Russian explosives factory southeast of Moscow yesterday, authorities said. The government of the Ryazan region, where the factory is based, said they had died in the factory blaze in the village of Lesnoye, 300 kilometres from the capital. Earlier officials said the fire could have broken out as a result of "violations of technological processes and safety measures" at the local PGUP Elastic factory.