More than 3,000 residents evacuated from Russia's Belgorod over bomb scare, return home

More than 3,000 people in the Russian city of Belgorod were evacuated after another explosive object was found at the site where Moscow’s warplane accidentally fired a weapon which caused a blast, on April 20. The evacuation took place on Saturday (April 22) and a couple of hours later people returned home after the explosive was disposed of.

Around 3,000 people evacuated

Belgorod region governor Vyacheslav Gladkov took to messaging app Telegram, on Saturday and said that the Russian military’s explosive technicians have found “an explosive object” and decided to “disarm it at the range.” The range that the governor was referring to was a training ground.

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“The operational headquarters decided to evacuate 17 apartment buildings within a radius of 200 metres. According to preliminary data, it is more than 3,000 people. Anyone who needs help with temporary accommodation, it will be provided,” said Gladkov, on Saturday, as per Reuters.

Hours later the governor said that people had started to return to their homes after the “shell” was removed from the area.

Russian jet accidentally fires weapon

The evacuation came days after a Su-34, a supersonic fighter-bomber jet accidentally fired a weapon in Belgorod which is near the border with Ukraine. This incident took place amid what Moscow calls its “special military operation” in Kyiv.

After reports of an explosion in the Russian city, Moscow’s defence ministry released a statement saying that when a “Su-34 plane of the Russian Aerospace Forces was performing a flight above the city of Belgorod, an emergency release of an air ordnance occurred.”

The accidental discharge of aviation ammunition at the time had damaged some buildings and injured at least three people, as per media reports. However, the governor later said four cars and four apartment buildings were damaged while the blast had also left a crater measuring 20 metres across one of the main streets in the Russian city.

While footage of the site shows piles of concrete on the street, several damaged cars and a building with broken windows, reported Reuters, adding that one video also showed what appeared to be a car upside down on the roof of a store.

(With inputs from agencies)

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