Source: rt.com
A series of explosions believed to be the result of a terrorist attack has rocked the Baksan Hydropower station in Russia’s Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria. Two people were killed and two more injured in the incident.
A group of terrorists forced their way into the territory of the power station on early Wednesday morning. They murdered two security guards, beat up two turbine room mechanics and planted explosive devices, announced the Investigation Committee of the Prosecutor General’s Office.
Conflicting reports are coming in concerning the number of blasts, with some sources saying there were three of them and others saying there were four. One more bomb was found later and defused, preventing another explosion.
The blasts set the turbine room ablaze with the fire spreading up to 250 square meters. However the firefighters managed to extinguish it in the space of several hours.
RusHydro, the country’s largest power-generating company which owns the Baksan power plant, said there is no danger of water-logging.
“As a result of the intelligent work of the staff, the diversion channel has been shut off and the turbine room has not been submerged,” RusHydro representatives said.
They added that it is yet impossible to assess the damage caused to the equipment.
Police are also saying that the same people who carried out the deadly attack on the power plant may have also been responsible for another attack which happened earlier this morning in the city of Baksan, when a police building was attacked by unknown men with a grenade launcher. No casualties were reported there.
Russia’s North Caucasus is believed to be one of the country’s most troubled areas, as it witnesses frequent attacks on law enforcement bodies and local officials. Suicide bombings are commonplace there.
The region is also seen as a home to many militants carrying out terror attacks not only in the region, but outside it also. As the investigation has shown, militants who were trained in the North Caucasus were behind the Moscow Metro bombings in March.
In Kabardino-Balkaria, the most prominent terrorist attack happened in 2005. Back then, a group of militants turned the city of Nalchik into the scene of a fierce battle with federal forces. The clash lasted for many hours, and left 12 civilians, 35 policemen, and over 90 terrorists dead. More than a hundred people were injured.
Source: https://rt.com/Top_News/2010-07-21/terror-attack-power-station.html