Explosion at military base in Chechnya; 11 dead

At least 11 people were killed and 28 more injured when a blast ripped through a Russian military base in Chechnya.

At least 11 people were killed and 28 more injured when a blast ripped through a Russian military base in Chechnya, military and local emergency ministry officials said early on Wednesday.

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The reason for the blast, which late on Tuesday wrecked a base where Russia's Vostok battalion was stationed, was as yet unknown, deputy chief of the local emergency ministry's main administration, Colonel Akhmet Djeirkhanov, said as quoted by the RIA-Novosti news agency.

Local police officials quoted by the agency said the blast occurred in the building's basement, where the base's kitchen was located and where "supposedly there were gas containers."

Earlier, officials said it was a gas explosion.

According to an interior ministry source quoted by RIA-Novosti, up to 43 people could have been in the wrecked building at the time of the blast.

Rescue efforts were still under way, Djeirkhanov said.