Explosion occurs at district heating and power plant in Tuva, Russia: city left without heat, one killed – photo

The aftermath of the explosion at the combined heat and power plant in the Republic of Tuva. Photo: Kremlin-aligned Russian news agency TASS

An explosion occurred at the Shagonar Combined Heat and Power Plant (CHPP) in the Republic of Tuva, a federal subject of the Russian Federation, on the morning of 6 March, leaving the city without central heating. One of the people injured during the incident later died in hospital.

Source: Kremlin-aligned Russian news agencies RIA Novosti and Interfax; Russian news outlet Dozhd (Rain); Vladislav Khovalyg, Head of the Republic of Tuva

Details: The explosion reportedly injured 23 people, 15 of which were hospitalised, with 6 are in serious condition.

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Photo: Baza Telegram channel

A coal dust explosion is the official cause of the incident in the three-storey building. The latest reports suggest that the fire at the CHPP has been contained.

Photo: Baza Telegram channel

The explosion caused an interruption to district heating service, although the local authorities claimed that none of the four heat-generating boilers at the CHPP suffered any damage.

The incident left about 4,000 residents of the 12,000-strong town of Shagonar with no heating. The temperature in the city dropped to -26°C overnight, with expected highs of -10 °C this afternoon.

Classes in Shagonar’s schools have been cancelled, and the authorities have urged people to preserve heat as much as possible.

The local authorities have also prepared heat generators to warm up four public buildings in the district centre if necessary.

Reminder:

• Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to put the burden of war in Ukraine on ethnic minorities to avoid a general mobilisation of ethnic Russians.
• The ISW and other analysts have previously noted the predominance of Russian battalions in Ukraine, which include troops from Chechnya, South Ossetia, Tuva, Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, Chuvashia and others.
• In February 2024, the BBC, together with Mediazone, noted that natives of Moscow and St Petersburg were 30-40 times less likely to die in the war than residents of Tuva and Buryatia.

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