Radiation levels rose briefly after explosion at military site in northern Russia

An oil platform in Severodvinsk.
(Image credit: AP Photo/Andrei Pronin)

On Thursday afternoon, officials in the northern Russia city of Severodvinsk detected a brief rise in radiation levels following an explosion at a military training ground, Russian state news agency TASS reports.

Kseniya Yudina, a spokeswoman for Severodvinsk, said the "brief rise of the radiation level was registered...at about noon." The Ministry of Defense said at least two people were killed and four seriously hurt when a liquid rocket engine exploded; regional authorities told state news agency RIA-Novosti that two people died and 15 were injured.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.