A fire caused by a gas explosion has torn through a Russian laboratory that houses viruses including smallpox, Ebola and HIV.

The State Research Centre of Virology and Biotechnology, known as Vector, released a statement yesterday saying a gas cylinder exploded on the fifth floor.

Located in Koltsovo, in the Novosibirsk region of Siberia, the site was a nexus for biological warfare development during the Soviet era.

One worker was left with second and third-degree burns and had to be taken to hospital after the blast, which blew out the windows at the facility.

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