One dead, thousands evacuated in Russia arms depot fire

Investigators said Tuesday that one person was killed and eight injured after a fire and explosions at a Siberian ammunition depot while thousands of evacuated residents waited to return to their homes.

Monday's fire at the depot holding charges for artillery shells near the town of Achinsk in the Krasnoyarsk region was the latest accident to hit Russia's military.

Witnesses posted footage on the internet showing a huge column of black smoke rising over a forest.

The Investigative Committee said one person was killed and eight injured as a result of the fire and blasts.

Regional officials previously said the accident had left one person missing and up to 12 injured.

By Tuesday, the explosions had stopped but it was too early for residents to return home as the army had to clear affected residential areas, officials said.

The Investigative Committee said it had launched a criminal probe, adding the reasons for the fire had not been established yet.

Deputy Defence Minister Dmitry Bulgakov said 70 sappers had arrived at the scene to help with the clean-up effort.

He said in televised remarks that "human error" was believed to have caused the accident.

More than 9,500 people were evacuated from Achinsk and adjacent areas and another 6,000 people left of their own, regional officials said.