Three killed in explosion at Nizhnekamsk synthetic rubber plant

Nizhnekamsk, Tatarstan – Three people have been killed in a fire and explosion at a Sibur synthetic rubber plant in Nizhnekamsk, the Russian group has announced.

Another 70 people were injured, of whom 20 were hospitalised, and nine are still missing following the fire, which broke out and was contained 31 March, Sibur said in a series of updates.

The preliminary cause of the incident was described as “an equipment malfunction.”

“During cleanup efforts following a depressurisation of equipment at Nizhnekamskneftekhim's synthetic rubber production facility, a gas mixture ignited from an as-yet-undetermined source, followed by an explosion,” Sibur said.

In a subsequent statement, Sibur said a commission involving regulatory authorities and company representatives is investigating the incident.

The company's CEO, Marat Falyakhov, and chairman Mikhail Karisalov said the affected operations, which were suspended following the explosion, have a production capacity of around 180 kilotonnes per annum.

In a separate statement to ERJ, Sibur confirmed that the incident had impacted  rubber production at Nizhnekamskneftekhim, but did not provide product types.

The incident, it said, "led to a production halt at one of the technological units, while 94% of Nizhnekamskneftekhim’s capacities continue to carry out the company’s production programme."

Nizhnekamskneftekhim’s total production capacity exceeds 3 million tonnes of petrochemical products per year, including synthetic rubbers.