Blast at Russian explosives plant injures 38

At least 38 people were injured in a blast at a major explosives plant in central Russia on Saturday, local news agencies reported, citing emergency services.

The blast took place at the "Kristall" factory in Dzerzhinsk about 400 kilometres (250 miles) east of Moscow, in the Nizhny Novgorod region. 

Earlier reports said 19 people were injured in the accident and two were missing. 

"Thirty eight people are injured, four of them are in a serious condition," a spokesman for local emergency services told the TASS news agency. 

He said 25 are in a state of "medium" severity while nine others had "light" injuries. 

Nobody was killed in the blast, the source told TASS. 

Earlier health ministry officials told news agencies that the wounded had "shrapnel wounds of mild and moderate severity" and that they were receiving medical assistance. 

Dmitry Krasnov, deputy governor of the region that includes Dzerzhinsk, said earlier on state TV that two people were missing in the blast, but later said that information had not been confirmed.

Russia's Investigative Committee said it had opened an investigation into potential violations of industrial safety at the plant. 

Local emergency services told news agencies that more than 300 people and 50 technical vehicles were taking part in cleaning the plant following the explosion. 

Representatives of Kristall told Interfax that five people were working in the area where the explosion occurred and were safely evacuated. 

There was no information yet on where the injured were at the time of the blast.

Local firefighters told agencies they had no information about any more people still inside the plant. 

"There was a technical explosion in one of the workshops, followed by a fire of around 100 square meters," a spokesman of the local emergency ministry told news agencies. 

Images on social media showed a large cloud of smoke after the explosion.