An explosion at the Urengoyskoe East oil and gas field in Russia's Arctic Yamal-Nenets region killed at least two person and injured eight others, the Russian state-run media outlet RIA Novosti reported on July 26, citing Rosneft, the state-run oil company that operates the facility.
After the initial reporting that said one had been killed and seven injured, the state-run media outlet TASS updated the number of casualties at 10:26 a.m. local time.
The casualties were reportedly workers at the oil and gas field. Four of the injured were taken to the hospital, said Dmitry Artyukhov, the governor of the region.
Authorities opened a preliminary criminal case into the potential violation of industrial health and safety standards, RIA Novosti said.
At the time of this publication, there was no indication that the explosion was deliberately caused or if there was any Ukrainian or other external involvement.
Ukraine has escalated attacks against Russia's oil industry, successfully reducing the processing capacities of multiple facilities.
While Ukraine has successfully launched attacks deep into Russian territory, the Urengoyskoe East oil and gas field is located some 4,000 kilometers (2,485 miles) northeast of the Ukrainian border.
Martin Fornusek
