Russian Cruise Missile Flies Off Target and Smashes Into Apartment Block Near Base

A Russian navy ship launches a cruise missile in the Caspian Sea on Oct. 7, 2015. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

Nyonoksa, Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia (Google Maps)

 

Russian investigators are on the scene following the impact.

The BBC reported that four apartments and a building’s roof was damaged. The Tass news agency also reported the missile hit a three-story building, damaging its roof, a few apartments and causing a fire, reported The Associated Press.

“On December 15, a test launch of a cruise missile was carried out by industry experts [JSC Mashinostroyenia] at a Russian Defense Ministry proving ground in Arkhangelsk region. Following the launch, the missile deviated from the set trajectory and fell near the settlement of Nenoksa,” the ministry stated, per Sputnik News.

The defense ministry didn’t say what kind of missile it was.

The test comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met one another at the Kremlin to begin talks to halt the Syrian civil war.

“Together, we’re looking for ways out of the most urgent crises,” Putin reportedly told Kerry.