Seven people, including five nuclear engineers, were killed in a mysterious explosion involving a nuclear-powered rocket engine in northern Russia.
Russia’s weather agency reported that radiation levels detected near the Nyonoksa missile testing site on the Arctic coast were 4 to 16 times higher than normal immediately after the blast, lasting for about 90 minutes before returning to standard levels. The agency stressed that the increase remained “relatively low” — but still far above what was initially claimed by officials.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said Moscow informed it that radiation in the wider Arkhangelsk region remained within normal limits. However, environmental groups like Greenpeace questioned Russia’s transparency, saying their own readings showed radiation levels up to 20 times higher than average. Greenpeace energy coordinator Konstantin Fomin told ABC News that “the real problem isn’t radioactive danger, but lack of transparency.”
The explosion, which killed five Rosatom engineers and two Defense Ministry staff, is believed to have occurred during a test of the Burevestnik (NATO codename: Skyfall), a nuclear-powered cruise missile President Vladimir Putin once hailed as part of a new generation of weapons with “unlimited range.”