Fire erupts at Omsk tank factory amid sabotage suspicions
In Omsk, Western Siberia, a massive fire broke out, sending black plumes of smoke over the city. A tank manufacturing factory was ablaze.
The fire erupted on September 12 at the Omsktransmash factory, which produces tanks and heavy flamethrower systems. It is part of the Uralvagonzavod group, which belongs to the state corporation Rostech.
The Ministry of Emergency Situations reported that it received a fire notification at 2:55 AM Eastern Time. Official reports indicate that the roof of one of the factory buildings was on fire.
The Governor of the Omsk Region, Vitaly Khotsenko, stated on his Telegram channel that the roof of one of the buildings caught fire during renovation works.
"A localized fire broke out on the company premises during roof repairs by a contractor. This incident did not affect the production process. There were no casualties," assured Omsktransmash in the statement.
The tanks and heavy flamethrower systems TOS-1A "Solntsepyok" produced by the factory are being deployed to the front in Ukraine. It is not surprising that there are suspicions that the fire is the result of sabotage or an attack by a Ukrainian drone, especially since this is the second fire in the city in recent weeks.
On August 26, a fire broke out at the Omsk Oil Refinery. Rostekhnadzor reported the cause of the fire as an "explosion of a gas-air mixture." One refinery worker was killed, and six were injured.
Russian refineries and fuel depots have recently been targets of Ukrainian attacks. However, Omsk is about 1,900 km from the Ukrainian border, and there is no evidence so far that the fire at the Omsk refinery was caused by a Ukrainian drone attack.
