Officials: 40 evacuated, four unaccounted for in Moscow-region plant fire

Explosions and a fire tore through a production building at the Krasnozavodsk chemical plant in Russia's Moscow region on Thursday evening, according to Interfax and Novaya Gazeta Europe. Alexei Luzhetsky, acting head of the Sergiyev-Posad district where the plant is located, said 44 people were inside the building when the incident began.

Of those, 40 employees were evacuated and examined by medics, with no health complaints reported so far, Luzhetsky said on his Max channel. The whereabouts of four other people were still being established, he said. Luzhetsky did not report any deaths.

Russian Telegram channels described as having security-service ties, Shot and Mash, reported that seven people had been killed and that one of the plant's buildings was partially destroyed, Meduza reported. This death toll has not been confirmed by Russian officials or by Interfax's account based on the local administration.

Preliminary information points to a technical cause rather than a drone strike, Luzhetsky said, adding that specialists would determine the exact cause. A source in Russia's emergency services told the state news agency TASS that the fire was industrial in origin, and local authorities said there had been no reports of drone activity in the region that evening.

Rescue teams, ambulance crews and a territorial disaster-medicine unit remained at the scene, Interfax reported. Work in the danger zone was proceeding cautiously because of the continuing risk of further explosions, according to Luzhetsky.

Novaya Gazeta Europe reported that the plant belongs to the Rostec state conglomerate and was previously targeted in a Ukrainian strike in summer 2025; Ukrainian officials have said the facility produces explosives, propellant and components for ammunition and missiles. The outlet said Krasnozavodsk lies about 100 kilometres from Istra, where Putin was speaking at the Valdai forum on the day of the fire.