Five Dead In Russian Missile Test Explosion

Nyonoksa is a test range for naval missiles (Picture: Google Earth).

Russia's nuclear agency has said five of its employees were killed when a rocket engine exploded during a test at a far-northern military base.

On Thursday, the Russian Defence Ministry said an explosion had happened at a military shooting range in Nyonoksa, in the north-western region of Arkhangelsk, causing a fire.

Soon after Thursday's explosion, the Russian Defence Ministry said two people died and four were injured, including servicemen and civilian engineers.

It was not immediately clear if the five fatalities cited in a Saturday statement by Rosatom were in addition to the previously reported deaths.

Nyonoksa hosts a navy facility that serves as a base for testing intercontinental ballistic missiles intended for nuclear submarines.

The explosion came days after a fire on Monday at a military ammunition depot near Achinsk, in eastern Siberia's Krasnoyarsk region.

The fire caused powerful explosions that continued for about 16 hours, killing one person and injuring another 13 and forcing more than 16,500 people to flee their homes.