Fire kills 16 at Russian explosives factory

MOSCOW: Sixteen people were killed and one person was missing after a deadly fire broke out at a Russian explosives factory southeast of Moscow on Friday, local authorities said.

The blaze took place in the village of Lesnoy, 300-km from the capital in the region of Ryazan. Authorities originally said 15 people had died, but later said one man who received severe burns had died in hospital.

"The fate of one more person is unknown," the local government said on its website, adding that rescuers are "looking for him". Seventeen people were believed to have been inside the plant’s workshop at the time of the fire.