ULYANOVSK, November 15 (RIA Novosti) - The number of people injured in Friday's explosions at a military depot in the Russian city of Ulyanovsk in the Volga Region has risen to 60, local authorities said Sunday.
A series of blasts hit a Navy arms depot in Ulyanovsk on Friday night killing two people and wounding many others. Shockwaves from the explosions smashed windows in nine schools and 20 kindergartens. Due to damage to housing, 105 people have been placed in hotels, including 17 children.
"Sixty people have asked for medical aid as of now," regional health minister Vladimir Petrov reported to Ulyanovsk Region governor Sergei Morozov and Russian Navy commander Adm. Vladimir Vysotsky.
Earlier forty-four people were reported to have been injured in the blasts.
Vysotsky said earlier Sunday that the tragedy was caused by the violation of ammunition disposal rules.
He said overall, about three wagons of artillery shells weighing over 100 metric tons were kept at the arms depot and about 40 tons of them exploded.
Twenty firefighting crews were called in to fight the ensuing blaze, which was put out during the night. Teams of sappers were at the site to clear the territory of unexploded shells scattered around the area.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has ordered the government to conduct an investigation into the incident and safety checks at all the county's weapons depots.
Ulyanovsk is located 900 km (560 miles) east of Moscow. Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin was born there.
