28 000 Evacuated, 2 Dead after Russian Arms Depot Blast

At least two people have died and more than 28 000 have been evacuated as a result of ongoing explosions at an artillery arsenal in Russia's Volga region Republic of Udmurtia.

The two victims were elderly and died from heart attacks caused by stress from the explosions, RIA Novosti reports. Another 45 people have been injured.

At around 11:10 p.m. Moscow time on Thursday shells began to explode in an artillery depot near the village of Pugachevo in Udmurtia. Currently, the intensity of explosions has dropped to a third of the initial level, but military officials are still unable to say when the series of explosions will stop, a Russian Defense Ministry spokesman has stated.

Russian television stations reported the depot was storing old ammunition to be destroyed - equating to around 58,000 tonnes of TNT.