UPDATE - 25 injured as powerful explosion rocks Sergiyev Posad city near Moscow

CHANGES HEADLINE AND LEDE, UPDATES WITH STATEMENT BY RUSSIAN EMERGENCY SITUATIONS MINISTRY, EDITS THROUGHOUT

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) – At least 25 people were injured on Wednesday after a powerful explosion occurred at a plant in the city of Sergiyev Posad, 74 kilometers (45.9 miles) northeast of Russia's capital Moscow.

*****Firefighters extinguished the fire in Sergiyev Posad that injured 25 people, a statement by Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry on Telegram said, adding that two of the injured were hospitalized.

***** The statement said that more than 150 people are working at the scene, including search and rescue personnel and canine crews.

***** Earlier, Russian state news agency TASS reported, citing sources in the emergency services, that the explosion occurred on the territory of the Zagorsk Optical and Mechanical Plant.

“The explosion occurred on the territory of the Zagorsk Optical and Mechanical plant in the boiler room area. The blast wave knocked out windows in several houses in different parts of the city,” it said.

The plant's management announced an evacuation of all buildings and workshops.

The governor of the Moscow region, Andrey Vorobyov, said that he was en route to the site of the incident.

* Burc Eruygur contributed to this story from Istanbul