A state of emergency was declared in a Russian city today after explosions at a major military bomb-making plant left 38 injured.

A giant fireball followed by a mushroom cloud erupted over the Kristall plant in the city of Dzerzhinsk, east of Moscow, today as residents were left rushing for cover.

The plant, which is Russia's sole manufacturer of HMX and RDX high explosives, is used to make Russia's giant Aviabomb FAB-500, a non-nuclear general purpose, air-dropped bomb with a 500-kilogram high explosive warhead.

A giant fireball followed by a mushroom cloud erupted over the city of Dzerzhinsk, east of Moscow, Russia, today following an explosion at a TNT factory

The mushroom cloud erupted over the Kristall plant following an explosion at the TNT plant

Residents were left rushing for shelter as the explosions erupted in the Russian city today

Footage shows the moment the two explosions erupted in the Russian city, shattering windscreens and shaking apartment blocks.

Local woman Tatiana Novikova said: 'I was walking with my son Yaroslav next to our block of flats when explosion hit so strongly that we both suffered earache.

'My son was so shocked that he was scared to run back into the building.

'By the time when we walked to the entrance we heard another explosion, and saw a giant mushroom of smoke rising above the city.

'We ran into the block closing every door and window that was open as we made our way up, with my head exploding with thoughts about potential chemical or radiation poisoning.

'Later we heard it was TNT.'

Russian forces have used the bomb recently in Syria.

Grey smoke rises into the sky and the city comes to a standstill after the explosion in the city

Smoke rises into the sky after two explosions go off at a military factory in Dzerzhinsk

Paramedics attend to people on the street following an explosion at the military bomb-making plant

Loud hailer announcements were made in the city calling on people not to panic and saying there was no danger of contamination despite the threat of further explosions.

A spokesman at the plant said: 'A fire broke out in one of the enterprise's buildings.

'The plant's services worked quickly and managed to evacuate the personnel on time.

'As a result of the explosion that followed the fire, [the building] was damaged.'

Initially the plant denied there had been casualties and civilian fire services were also banned from the site, it was reported.

Military firefighters were tasked with dealing with the crisis.

Reports state the explosions stemmed from a fire at the JSC Kristall Research Institute polymer processing facility.

A cat lies motionless on the ground following the explosion earlier today in the Russian city of Dzerzhinsk

The inside of one building shows the extent of the damage left by the large explosion in the city

Staff observe the damage done to their building following a TNT plant in the Russian city

Another building sees its ceiling completely destroyed following a large explosion in the city

The Emergencies Services said they were responding to the fire under the highest fire alert category.

According to Interfax's source, the blast completely destroyed the facility at the plant.

On social media residents posted messages that described the destruction that had been left by the bombs.

Resident Olga Garnova posted: 'This is terrifying!!

'I am so scared for my family, my relatives, my friends, for everyone!!

'My block of flats at Tsiolkovskogo Prospekt was shaken by the blast, everything inside my flat jumped up and down.

'My balcony is a mess with everything falling down.

A ceiling collapses inside a building owned by a local resident following an explosion at the TNT plant

A building in left shattered after an explosion as Russia's sole manufacturer of HMX and RDX high explosives

People take to the streets after a explosion takes place at a TNT plant. A criminal case into the bomb factory carnage is now underway

'Windows at a nearby flat were broken to pieces.

'I don't want to think what happened to people next to the epicentre.'

Another resident wrote: 'School Number 37, windows are smashed out, need volunteers help'

A woman with a dacha - country cottage - who is not far from the factory reported: 'My mother flew by three metres (10ft) when the explosion hit.

'My son had just come downstairs when it happened and thank God.

'The blast wave shattered every window on the second floor, all of them.'

Reports said the explosions were heard at the regional capital Nizhny Novgorod almost 20 miles away.

Officials later said there was no threat of further explosions.

The Russian Investigative Committee have now opened a criminal case into the bomb factory carnage.