Moscow: Doctors who treated the victims of an explosion after a military test went wrong have accused Russian authorities of exposing them to radiation and forcing them to keep silent.

Arkhangelsk, Russia. Credit:Engine9/CC

Staff from the Arkhangelsk regional hospital were not initially informed that they were treating irradiated patients, and protective measures were not taken until the next day, they told Russian media.

One doctor was later found to have the isotope Caesium-137 in his muscle tissue. He was told he must have eaten too many "Fukushima crabs" during a trip to Thailand, his colleague told the news outlet Meduza.

"We just want not to be contaminated and not to die, at least when it can be avoided easily," he said. "Not a word was ever said about this."