{"id":27332,"date":"2019-08-12T15:43:45","date_gmt":"2019-08-12T15:43:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smg.go-vip.net\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/08\/12\/russia-buries-5-nuke-engineers-following-explosion\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T19:30:19","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T19:30:19","slug":"russia-buries-5-nuke-engineers-following-explosion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2019\/08\/12\/russia-buries-5-nuke-engineers-following-explosion\/","title":{"rendered":"Russia buries 5 nuke engineers following explosion"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

MOSCOW \u2014 Thousands of Russians attended the funerals Monday of five Russian nuclear engineers killed by an explosion as they tested a new rocket, a tragedy that fueled radiation fears and raised new questions about a secretive weapons program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The engineers, who died Thursday, were laid to rest Monday in Sarov<\/a>, which hosts Russia\u2019s main nuclear weapons research center, where they worked. Flags flew at half-staff in the closed city, located 370 kilometers (230 miles) east of Moscow, which has served as a base for Russia\u2019s nuclear weapons program since the late 1940s. The coffins were displayed at Sarov\u2019s main square before being driven to a cemetery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Defense Ministry initially said the explosion at the navy\u2019s testing range in Navy in the northwestern Arkhangelsk <\/a>region killed two people and injured six others, but the state-controlled Rosatom nuclear concern<\/a> acknowledged over the weekend that the blast also killed five of its workers and injured three others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rosatom director Alexei Likhachev praised the victims as “true heroes” and “a pride of our country.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Our further work on new weapons that we will certainly complete will be the best tribute to them,” Likhachev said during the funeral, according to Rosatom. “We will fulfill the Motherland’s orders and fully protect its security.”<\/p>\n\n\n\t