MOSCOW (Reuters) – More than 3,000 people in the Russian city of Belgorod were returning to their homes on Saturday after being evacuated while an explosive was disposed of, the local governor said.
Two days earlier a Russian warplane accidentally dropped a bomb on the city, damaging local houses, authorities said.
Those evacuated lived in the same area.
Military explosive experts decided to “neutralise” the explosive at a training ground, Belgorod region governor Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on Telegram.
“The operational headquarters decided to evacuate 17 apartment buildings within a radius of 200 metres. According to preliminary data, it is more than 3,000 people. Anyone who needs help with temporary accommodation, it will be provided,” he said on Saturday.
He said later that people had started to return to their homes after a “shell” was removed from the area.
On Thursday, a Russian Sukhoi-34 supersonic warplane accidentally fired a weapon into Belgorod, causing an explosion and injuring three people, Russian officials said.
(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; editing by Frances Kerry and Jason Neely)
