A fire broke out at the Amur Gas Chemical Complex in Russia’s Far East earlier this week, killing 15, the plant's management said Thursday.
Video shared on social media showed crowds of workers fleeing for safety when the fire began at the complex on Tuesday.
All of those killed were employees at the plant, the Amur Gas Chemical Complex wrote in a statement. It said that one Russian citizen and 14 foreigners were among the dead, but did not provide
further details. It previously announced on Wednesday that it had recovered the bodies of one Russian and six Chinese citizens.
Located in Russia’s Amur region close to the Chinese border, some 5,500 kilometers (3,400 miles) east of Moscow, the Amur Gas Chemical Complex is a joint venture between China’s state oil and gas firm Sinopec and Russian petrochemical company Sibur.
Russia’s Investigative Committee said it was looking into the cause of the fire and any potential breach of safety regulations. It did not report any indications of sabotage or foul play.
When reached for comment, Sibur referred to a statement made by the management of Amur Gas Chemical Complex, which said that the company had begun emergency recovery work in coordination with Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations.
The same statement also said that construction and installation at facilities unaffected by the fire would continue as normal and that air quality was being continuously monitored. No emissions of harmful substances were currently exceeding maximum permissible levels, it said.
Sinopec did not immediately respond to AP’s request for comment.
Chinese newspaper Global Times reported that a team had been dispatched to the site by the local Chinese consulate.
The Amur Gas Chemical Complex is still under construction and was planned to start work early in 2027.
It describes itself as one of the world’s largest facilities for the production of polyethylene and polypropylene, with the ability to make a combined 2.7 million tonnes of the two polymers each year.
In a statement, the company said that preliminary investigations showed that the fire broke out in an auxiliary process area and that the complex’s main equipment was not damaged.
___ AP writer Fu Ting contributed to this story from Washington, D.C.
