A home moonshine-making apparatus reportedly exploded on Thursday night, injuring three Moscow residents.
Emergency services told media the blast occurred on the fifth floor of an apartment building in southwest Moscow late on Thursday, possibly due to tampering with an “explosive liquid.”
“A broken family that leads an antisocial lifestyle lives in that apartment. Its members produced moonshine,” the state-run TASS news agency quoted an unnamed law-enforcement source as saying.
“At least three people were injured and one of the apartment walls collapsed as a result of their apparatus exploding,” the source said.
Photographs showed blowed-out windows and debris outside the building.
The apartment owner was reportedly previously convicted for drug trafficking.
The distiller may have acted as a front for a drug manufacturing lab, an unnamed emergency service source later told the RIA Novosti news agency.
“The man was making drugs in the apartment, a gas and air mixture burst when mixing the components,” the source was quoted as saying Friday.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.