Fire rages at Russian tank factory in Omsk amid sabotage fears
5:07 PM EDT, September 12, 2024
A gigantic fire broke out in Omsk, Western Siberia. Black plumes of smoke rose over the city as a tank manufacturing factory caught fire.
The blaze started on September 12 at the Omsktransmash factory, which produces tanks and heavy flamethrower systems. This factory is part of the Uralvagonzavod group, which belongs to the state corporation Rostech.
The Ministry of Emergency Situations reported receiving a fire notification at 2:55 AM Eastern Time. Official reports indicate that the roof of a factory building was ablaze.
The Governor of the Omsk Region, Vitaly Khotsenko, stated on his Telegram channel that the roof 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 a statement.
The tanks and heavy flamethrower systems TOS-1A "Solntsepyok" produced by the factory are being deployed to the front in Ukraine. Naturally, there are suspicions that the fire might be the result of sabotage or a Ukrainian drone attack, especially since this is the second fire in the city in recent weeks.
On August 26, a fire erupted at the Omsk Oil Refinery. Rostekhnadzor reported the cause 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 1,200 miles 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.
