Explosion at Russian defense industry plant kills one

A powerful explosion occurred Monday at a Russian defense industry plant whose products include explosives, killing one person and shattering windows of nearby homes, emergency officials and news reports said.

The explosion took place while a product was being tested at the state-run Altai research and development center in the Siberian city of Biisk, ITAR-Tass and Interfax reported.

A shop director was killed and another employee was hospitalized, Emergency Situations Ministry spokesman Viktor Beltsov told the AP.

At least one building was badly damaged, and windows were shattered at another factory in the area and several homes in a nearby village, ITAR-Tass and Interfax reported. The man who was hospitalized suffered minor injuries and was in shock, they said.

Altai works in both military and civilian production and makes explosives and other products using chemicals, according to its Web site.