5 dead in Kyrgyz explosion

BISHEK, Kyrgyzstan, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- An explosion at a bulk oil depot in Kyrgyzstan Wednesday killed five workers, government officials said.

The Interior Ministry said an oil tanker at the Kainda-Oil bulk oil facility exploded, triggering a fire, the Kyrgyz news agency 24.kg reported. The news agency said the initial information available was that the oil depot in the northern Kyrgyzstan community of Kaindy belongs to a Kyrgyz-Russian joint company.

China's official Xinhua news agency reported Kubatbek Boronov, head of the Emergency Situations Ministry, said the fire had been extinguished.

A government committee ordered by Prime Minister Omurbek Babanov was to investigate the incident, Xinhua said.