AFP/Moscow

Eight soldiers died in a munitions blast yesterday in the central Russian city of Ulyanovsk, a defence ministry spokesman said, at the same arms depot where two died in a huge accidental blast 10 days ago.

“Eight soldiers died as the result of a munitions blast at the 31st arsenal of the Russian Navy in Ulyanovsk,” the defence ministry spokesman told AFP.

The facility was precisely the same spot where two firefighters were killed on November 13 in a spectacular series of weapons blasts that shattered windows and lit up the sky as munitions were being detonated in a controlled operation.

In the latest incident, a shell exploded as troops were loading live ammunition into a truck as part of the clean-up operation from the previous accident, the spokesman said.

Two soldiers were also injured, he added.

Military investigators are travelling to the city, located about 900km east of Moscow, to establish the reason for yesterday’s blast, the regional military prosecutors told the Interfax news agency.

The explosions earlier this month sparked a massive fire that killed two rescue workers and caused the evacuation of more than 3,000 local residents.

Early reports after the November 13 blasts said that 35 soldiers were missing and feared dead.

They were later however found alive and safe, hiding in a bomb shelter.

The latest blast is an embarrassment to Russia both because of the recent precedent and because President Dmitry Medvedev is scheduled to visit Ulyanovsk today to meet Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev.