Death toll after explosion at military plant in Urals city kills 12, Russian news outlet reports

The death toll after an explosion at a military plant near the Russian Urals city of Chelyabinsk on Wednesday rose to twelve with five people injured, Russia's Izvestia news outlet reported on Thursday.

Aleksei Teksler, governor of the Chelyabinsk region, had previously announced that the incident had occurred in the city of Kopeisk, just to the east of Chelyabinsk.

He said a fire at the plant, which he did not name, had been extinguished.

Russian investigators said on Thursday that they had opened a criminal case into the incident.

Local media, citing eyewitnesses, reported that the explosion had occurred at the 'Plastmass' plant, which is controlled by Russian state corporation Rostec.

There was no indication that the incident was linked in any way to drone activity, the governor, Teksler, said.

Rostec was not available for immediate comment.