NOTHING TO SEE HERE?

Two Dead and Spike in Radiation in Northern Russia After Rocket Mishap

The rocket engine explosion is the second potentially lethal accident in a week after an ammunition depot exploded in Siberia earlier this week.

Two people have been killed and an alarming spike in radiation was noted in the northern Russian city of Severodvinsk after a rocket engine exploded at a defense installation, The Guardian reports, citing Russian news agency Tass. The mishap is the second such deadly accident in a week after a military ammunition depot caught fire in Siberia, killing one and forcing 16,500 people to evacuate this week. Russian state media reported the Severodvinsk accident happened aboard a vessel, while the military said it happened on land. Some news reports also stated there was a spike in radiation levels near Nyonoks, which hosts a testing site for ballistic missiles carried on nuclear-powered submarines. Russia’s defense ministry denies any increase in radiation levels, insisting the most recent accident caused “no harmful discharges into the atmosphere.”