A BLAST at a major explosives plant in central Russia on Saturday injured 79 people and damaged nearly 200 buildings nearby, local officials told Russian news agencies.

The explosion happened at the “Kristall” factory in Dzerzhinsk about 400 kilometers east of Moscow, in the Nizhny Novgorod region.

A local health ministry official quoted by the TASS news agency said 79 people had suffered light or moderate injuries, a huge increase on the initial figure of 19.

“According to the latest information, 79 people asked for medical help after the explosion at Kristall: 38 factory workers and 41 residents of the city. There are no children among the injured,” a health ministry statement said.

Fifteen people were hospitalized but none had life-threatening injuries, it said.

Earlier, health ministry officials told news agencies that the wounded had “shrapnel wounds of mild and moderate severity” and that they were receiving medical assistance.

The force of the blast damaged five factory buildings and 180 houses nearby.

The deputy governor of the Nizhny Novgorod region, Dmitry Krasnov, told Russian state television that two people were missing. (SD-Agencies)