Thousands evacuated, 12 injured, one missing after fire triggers massive explosion at Siberian arms depot

Aug. 6--Thousands of people were evacuated, 12 were injured and one person remains missing after a fire triggered a massive explosion at a Siberian arms depot at a military base on Monday.

The Russian ammunition depot caught fire, leading to a series of explosions that may have been caused by "human error," a senior Defense Ministry official said Tuesday, The Moscow Times reports.

The blasts occurred in the region of Krasnoyarsk. Officials from the Emergencies Ministry said it's feared that the missing person is dead, The Independent reports.

Around 16,000 people were evacuated from the city of Achinsk, near the area where the explosions occurred.

Residents within 20 km (12.4 miles) were moved out during the incident, Russian news agency TASS reported.

It was announced Tuesday that the fire was extinguished by the Ministry of Defense, and the explosions from the ammunition had stopped, RIA reported. The city hall cancelled the emergency in the Cith of Achinsk around 7 p.m. local time and residents were allowed to return to their homes.

The preliminary cause of the explosions at the military base is being debated as "human error," but the exact reason is under investigation, Deputy Defense Minister Dmitry Bulgakov said, as reported by Interfax.

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