Ministry Of Defence: Explosions Occurred At Three Of Six Fireworks Sites

On July 3, the shells with the same caliber exploded.

The Commission of the Ministry of Defense continues its official investigation into the explosions of fireworks in Minsk. This is reported by the press service of the agency.

"It is established that the products of one caliber (195 mm) of five used in the course of fireworks (105 mm, 125 mm, 150 mm, 195 mm, 310 mm) exploded. The explosions occurred in three out of six places where the fireworks were fired. After the first detonations, the fireworks at these places were stopped," - the report says.

Supposedly, the explosions were caused by low-quality charges of this caliber (195 mm). The Investigative Committee has also suggested and is working on other possible versions of the incident.

It is established that all the safety measures stipulated by the regulatory documents were observed. The servicemen dealing with the firing units had been specially trained and were allowed to carry out the fireworks by the relevant orders.

In order to exclude the "human factor" (improper operation of installations and products) within the framework of objective control, the process of charging the fireworks was recorded on video.

During the fireworks, cordons were set up in accordance with the normative acts regulating the use of these fireworks, which have the appropriate certificates of the manufacturer (the firing units and the fireworks themselves were purchased in the Russian JSC Piro-Ross).

"Taking into account that such explosions had not been registered in the previous period, it was unfortunately difficult to predict the tragic event. This is the rarest case. The military department expressed its condolences to the relatives and friends of the deceased and provides them with the necessary assistance," - the Ministry of Defense noted.

We remind that on July 3rd during the fireworks on the bank of the river Svislach near the stela "Minsk - Hero-City" there was an incident. The eyewitnesses reported about two bursts that occurred close to the ground and an unusually bright explosion. The blast wave smashed out windows in some houses on Dauman Street and Cherviakov Street. Later, it became known that a 64-year-old woman died as a result of the accident, the reasons for which are being established - according to unconfirmed reports, a metal fragment hit her in the neck. The Investigation Committee reported about 10 victims, two of whom were hospitalized, tut.by informes.

The Investigation Committee is considering four main versions: malfunction of firing units, malfunction of fireworks, improper charging of firing units, improper operation of firing units.