In an incident that does nothing to alleviate war-related tensions in Russia, a tank fell off the truck transporting it in Siberia's second-biggest city, police said Thursday.
A T-72B, a staple model of the Russian tank force, was being transported back to its unit Wednesday after repairs at a factory in Omsk, a city of 1.1 million in western Siberia, local police said.
But it fell off the truck at a turn in the road in the city's center, police said on their website.
No one was injured. The truck driver faces a fine of 500 rubles ($13), and the factory mechanic who authorized the transportation a fine of up to 20,000 rubles ($530).
Several other tanks were reported by locals to be being carted around the streets of Omsk earlier this week. All the others appeared to reach their destinations without incident or undue disturbance.
It remained unclear what kind of maintenance the tanks required. Moscow was accused recently of supplying heavy weaponry to pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine — 3,000 kilometers west of Omsk — but denied it.
