Russians warned not to panic about a 'gas cloud" in a city near a plant that was struck by Ukraine

The Governor of Russia's Astrakhan Region told its residents to not panic after the main city was covered in a natural gas cloud on Wednesday. Its main city is located near a large gas chemical complex which was attacked this week by Ukrainian drones.

The gas smelled by the public was caused by the restart of production at a plant in the south of the city of Astrakhan. Astrakhan has about 475,000 residents.

"Dear Citizens, this morning, the city was covered with a cloud that smelled like natural gas. It is produced after processing, and it has a distinct smell," he wrote in Telegram.

The restoration work is being carried out by specialists, and production has begun this morning. The start-up process and the adjustment are underway. Flare-burning is also part of the process.

He did not specify which production is being restarted. On Tuesday, three industry sources said that the Astrakhan Gas Processing Plant is likely to suspend motor gasoline production for several months.

Babushkin explained that some gas flares were extinguished after the attack and restarting them would require a gas release, which was "ignited like a gas stove in a home".

He said that the weather service predicted the cloud of gas would move away.

He said that natural gas was not harmful to the health of people in open areas. In the near future, the air quality will return to normal.

Such situations could occur in Astrakhan before the plant resumes its normal operating mode. Do not panic!"

On social media, some Astrakhan residents have responded with sarcastic remarks.

You see, natural gas is not dangerous. One person wrote: "Breathe deeply."

Another poster: "It is 60 km between Aksaraisk and Astrakhan!" The smell is very strong. "What about the villages closer to Aksaraisk?"

Astrakhan is one of the largest gas-chemical complexes in the world. According to industry sources, it will process 1.8 million tonnes of stable gas condensate in 2024 and produce 800,000 tonnes of gasoline, 600,000.00 tons of diesel, and 300,000.00 tons of fuel oil. Mark Trevelyan, Angus MacSwan and Mark Trevelyan contributed to this report.

(source: Reuters)