Russian village evacuated after ammunition depot fire

MOSCOW – Russia’s emergency officials say they are evacuating residents from a village in central Russia after a nearby ammunition depot caught fire.

The Emergency Situations Ministry said in a statement Wednesday that they deployed a helicopter and a jet to put out a fire at the ammunition depot in the town of Pugachyovo, around 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) east of Moscow. Authorities have also ordered Pugachyovo’s 3,000 residents to evacuate to nearby villages.

Authorities said the blaze started after dry grass nearby caught fire.

It was the second fire at the same depot in seven years. One person died and about 100 people sought medical help when a fire engulfed the depot in the summer of 2011. More than 4,000 houses were also damaged in the area at the time.