On the fact of the explosion in the Pushkinsky district of St. Petersburg, a criminal case was opened under Part 1 of Art. The press service of the Main Investigative Committee of Russia for the city said in article 222.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Illegal acquisition, transfer, sale, storage, transportation, transportation or transportation of explosives or explosive devices.”
On the evening of April 26, an explosion occurred near an unfinished boiler room in Pavlovsk on the territory of a thermal power plant. Fontanka writes that the abandoned building is in an open area. Visually, it looked like a “box with slots for windows”, next to it was a concrete pipe, where, according to experts, the epicenter of the explosion was located.
The head of the regional administration, Andrey Chapurov, said on the Telegram channel that “there were no casualties”.
“The reasons are determined, the control continues. The situation is under the special control of the administration,” he said.
According to 78.ru, the official representative of the State Investigation Directorate, Sergey Kapitonov, as a result of the incident, the roof and facade of the nearby equestrian club “Cowboy” were damaged, as well as the bottom of the boiler room pipe.
Citing a club representative, TASS reported that the animals were not injured.
The worker told 78.ru that an explosion was heard, followed by a shock wave, and a few seconds later the stones flew away. He doesn’t know what might have caused the incident. “Let’s just say I wouldn’t be talking to him if he was nearby,” the man shared.
According to other eyewitnesses, some buildings shook during the explosion. “My mother is in the garden of Slavyanochka, which they shake at home. A friend’s window opened in Gummolosary. An eyewitness told Fontanka, we think it’s most likely the Pushkin military airfield. About 10 km from the airport to the “Cowboy” club and Catherine’s Park.
Local groups write that the sound was also heard in Pavlovsk: “Everyone rushed into the street to look.”
Fontanka writes that a funnel 6 meters in diameter and 1.5 meters deep remained from an abandoned building. “According to preliminary information, the explosion occurred under the pipe, but according to experts, this does not look like sabotage. Allegedly, there is a funnel from the explosion, but there is no trace of the device,” the newspaper writes.
Experts continue to determine the circumstances of the event. Traces of a supposedly buried barrel were found, experts took its fragments for research. Fragments were also found on the territory of the equestrian club, they were marked with a signal tape, it reads Mash on the Moika Telegram channel.
According to another version, Fontanka notes that “in an abandoned building, a WWII bullet or caches of land-diggers could explode.” Citing a source, Telegram-channel Shot reported that “a 122-152 mm artillery shell could explode” near the thermal power plant.
According to the 78.ru reporter, the 90 m high pipe located near the explosion site was used by extreme athletes for jumping rope. Since 2015, jumps have been made there every weekend. Inside the pipe is equipment: a diesel generator, winches, cables and ropes. The portal explains that the event organizer has already been detained by the police.