Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


US-Based Experts Suspect Russia Blast Involved Nuclear-Powered Missile

Reuters

   WASHINGTON - U.S.-based nuclear experts said Friday they suspected an
   accidental blast and radiation release in northern Russia this week
   occurred during the testing of a nuclear-powered cruise missile vaunted
   by President Vladimir Putin last year.

   The Russian Ministry of Defense, quoted by state-run news outlets, said
   that two people died and six were injured Thursday in an explosion of
   what it called a liquid propellant rocket engine. No dangerous
   substances were released, it said.

   Russia's state nuclear agency Rosatom said early Saturday that five of
   its staff members died.

   A spokeswoman for Severodvinsk, a city of 185,000 near the test site in
   the Arkhangelsk region, was quoted in a statement on the municipal
   website as saying that a "short-term" spike in background radiation was
   recorded at noon Thursday.

   The statement was not on the site Friday.

   The Russian Embassy did not immediately respond for comment.

.