Explosion at Ballistic Missile Testing Facility in Russia, Two Dead; Radiation Spikes

Two people were killed and a nearby city reported a spike in radiation levels when a rocket engine blew up at a testing site in northern Russia on Thursday, Aug. 8.

This undated file photo provided Sept. 19, 2017, by Russian Defense Ministry official web site shows a Russian Iskander-K missile launched during a military exercise at a training ground at the Luzhsky Range, near St. Petersburg, Russia. Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP/File

MOSCOW—Two people were killed and a nearby city reported a spike in radiation levels when a rocket engine blew up at a testing site in northern Russia on Thursday, Aug. 8, forcing authorities to shut down part of a bay in the White Sea to shipping.

The brief spike in radiation reported by authorities in the nearby city of Severodvinsk, inhabited by 185,000 people, apparently contradicted the defense ministry, which had earlier been quoted by state media as saying radiation was normal.