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A gas explosion set fire Monday to a Russian biological research facility — one of only two known centres in the world that keeps samples of the fatal smallpox virus.

The blast happened after a gas canister exploded during repairs on the fifth floor of a six-storey laboratory at the Russian State Centre for Research on Virology and Biotechnology, also known as Vector, in the city of Koltsovo, about 20 km from Novosibirsk.

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Some windows were blown out but there was no structural damage.

One person suffered severe burns and was sent to intensive care.

No biohazard materials were stored in the room where the explosion occurred, a statementsaid, and the city’s mayor assured there is no biological threat to the local population, CNN reported.