Last week on August 8th, a mysterious blast shook a military test site in a part of northern Russia, close to the port of Severodvinsk. Russian authorities released a statement claiming that at least five engineers were killed in an accident involving tests on a liquid-propelled rocket engine.
The Russian Defence Ministry stated that no harmful chemicals were released into the atmosphere and radiation levels were unchanged.
Image credits: reuters
However, they soon removed the statement from their website as new information on radiation spikes emerged.
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Image credits: Youtube
Image credits: Youtube
Ksenia Yudina, a spokeswoman for the city of Severodvinsk reported that radiation levels briefly rose by up to 16 times on the day of the blast.
Image credits: Youtube
Image credits: Youtube
Local citizens were reported to be stocking iodine tablets which are used to reduce the effects of the explosion.
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While Russia doesn’t release the details that might explain what caused the radiation spike, US experts offer their insight.
Image credits: OPEN STREET
Image credits: JuliaDavisNews
They believe that the deceased engineers may have been working on an experimental missile with a nuclear propulsion system, which Russia calls 9M730 Buresvestnik. The same missile is known as SCC-X-Skyfall.
US President Donald Trump has made the same connection tweeting on Monday: “The Russian ‘Skyfall’ explosion has people worried about the air around the facility, and far beyond. Not good!”
Here’s how people reacted
Source: boredpanda.com