Secretly filmed footage has emerged of a Russian army representative warning anxious villagers near the site of a suspected failed nuclear-powered missile test about the radiation dangers on the coast.
The video, obtained by the independent Russian-language news website Newsader, shows the unidentified officer addressing concerned residents of the village of Nyonoksa.
He discusses the circumstances of the explosion, which Russia's state nuclear company Rosatom said took place at the offshore site in Nyonoksa on August 8.
The failed test is thought to have involved the nuclear-powered cruise missile in Russian known as "Burevestnik" and in the U.S. as "Skyfall."
The officer said that one of the rocket engines, "powered by nuclear isotopes" was being tested, before "an explosion occurred."
He said that only those in the immediate vicinity were affected by radioactive contamination. He then urged people not to go near the White Sea coast due to the danger of radiation posed by debris scattered on the coast and washed ashore after the explosion's aftermath.
The officer said that plastics, fabrics, and polystyrene, which absorbed radiation, were particularly risky.
He said: "I know that someone was already about to visit [the site]. So, I want to warn you that you should not do this, because what you are afraid of might just happen.
"It might happen if someone climbs on the pontoons or picks up from the shore what appears to be safe at first glance," he said.
Independent analysts said the video appeared to be authentic, Radio Free Europe reported, although it is unclear when it was recorded.
While the speaker urged villagers not to compare the explosion with Chernobyl, the catastrophic 1986 nuclear accident in then Soviet Ukraine, many present in the room were audibly unhappy with him.
There has been distrust in the official government version of events.
Last week, an ecologist from the neighboring city of Severodvinsk, Alexey Klimov, warned people not to go fishing nearby and said that "the local media and the emergencies ministry are unfortunately not giving us accurate information."
Meanwhile four doctors at the Arkhangelsk hospital where victims were treated said its staff were angered by the secrecy and the radiation risks they faced.
One unnamed doctor told The Moscow Times: "This is a public hospital. We weren't prepared for this and other people could have been affected."
So far four monitoring stations, which ensure the rules of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CNBTO) are followed, have reportedly stopped transmitting data, adding to concerns that the Kremlin is trying to cover up evidence of the accident.
The Arkhangelsk Region administration press service said that no one injured in the accident showed excessive radiation levels, according to the Kremlin-funded news agency Tass.
Russian President Vladimir Putin insisted there was no radiation contamination threat.
"Experts, including independent, were commissioned there. They are monitoring the situation. I receive reports from our experts, both civilian and military.
"We see no serious changes there but are taking preventive measures all the same to avoid any unexpected developments," Putin said Monday, Tass reported.
