The fire broke out at the Elastik plant in Shilovsky district, about 250km southeast of Moscow. The explosion was believed to have been caused by a gun factory at the facility on fire, according to Russian media.
However, up to now, there has been no official information from the government about the cause of the incident. The authorities said the case is still under investigation.
According to the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, the death toll has now risen to 13 after search efforts in the rubble overnight on August 16 and early morning of August 17 (local time) by rescue teams.
Of the injured, 29 are still being treated at hospitals - 13 in Ryazan and 16 have been transferred to medical facilities in Moscow.
Ryazan Governor - Mr. Pavel Malkov - declared that August 18 will be a national mourning day in the Ryazan area.
Mr. Malkov announced on Telegram: "Flars will be hung across the area. Cultural establishments, television stations, radio stations and organizations have been required to cancel entertainment events.
Notably, this is the second deadly explosion at the Elastik plant in less than four years. The previous incident occurred in October 2021, a fire broke out from an explosion at an explosives factory run by Razryad, killing 17 people.
