A strong natural gas odor spread across the southern Russian city of Astrakhan following a drone strike on a gas processing facility earlier in the week, local authorities and media reported Wednesday.
Debris from a falling drone struck the Astrakhan Gas Processing Plant early Monday, sparking a fire and halting operations. By Wednesday morning, city residents reported a strong gas smell and breathing difficulties.
“Dear citizens, this morning, a cloud of natural gas with a distinct odor... spread over the city,” Astrakhan region Governor Igor Babushkin said. “The cause of the gas smell is the restarting of production at the Astrakhan Gas Processing Plant.”
Babushkin said that technicians at the plant had released and then ignited gas as they tried to bring the plant back online following Monday’s drone attack.
“Natural gas is not harmful in open spaces, and air quality will return to normal soon,” the governor said, warning that similar releases of gas may occur in the “coming days” as work continues to restore operations at the plant.
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