Russia’s State Nuclear Energy Authority Rosatom has revealed that during the testing of an energy source for a liquid propulsion system for missiles that could be used in military or space research, there was an explosion that caused some casualties.
Some sources revealed that the same explosion also increased radiation levels 20 times higher in the nearby Severodvinsk region for about half an hour.
Russian missile experiment site
Officials also asked to survey the Dvina Bay area near the White Sea, near the military facility where the explosion occurred and the nuclear submarine production facility..
No statement was given by the Rosatom on exactly the devices involved, but the New York Times pointed to evidence that it was probably an experimental weapon.
This will not be the first time that Russia’s arms test has a radiation problem, boasting to develop a hyper-sonic weapon that will be ready by 2019, but lack of resources and high costs have delayed the project.
Read also: Russia confirms successful test of “Topol” intercontinental ballistic missile
