Death toll from fire at Russia-China Amur Gas Chemical Complex rises to 15
A fire at Russia's Amur Gas Chemical Complex, a $10 billion Sibur-Sinopec joint venture, has killed 15 people, up from an initial count of 7, per The Moscow Times and Meduza.
A fire that broke out on August 25, 2026 in a support section of a pyrolysis unit at the Amur Gas Chemical Complex (AGCC) near Svobodny in Russia's Far East has killed 15 people, the company said, up from an initial toll of 7 (6 Chinese nationals and 1 Russian) reported on the day of the fire. AGCC said 14 of the 15 confirmed dead are foreign nationals, without detailing all nationalities. Thirty-nine workers remain hospitalized, including 9 airlifted to Moscow. AGCC is a $10 billion joint venture between Russia's Sibur and China's state-owned Sinopec, designed to become one of the world's largest polymer producers, and was undergoing final testing ahead of a planned 2027 launch. Russia's Investigative Committee has opened a probe into possible safety violations; the cause of the fire has not yet been confirmed. Local authorities said air quality monitoring detected no toxic chemical spikes and that the incident poses no threat to nearby residents. Sources: The Moscow Times, Meduza.