A Russian missile crashed in a remote area of western Kazakhstan this week after misfiring due to a technical error, but no one was injured and there was no damage to property, Kazakh emergency officials said. A Russian bomber from the Shaikovka airstrip near Moscow, fired the X-22 missile, which came down Wednesday 18 km from the Kazakh village of Suyundyk after it had been launched on the wrong trajectory, officials said.
The misfired missile left a crater three metres deep and 39 metres wide, while its fragments were scattered over a radius of 60 metres, but its warhead has yet to be discovered, Interfax reported.
Kazakhstan has voiced concern in the past at the lack of stability guarantees covering Russian military tests because such incidents happen regularly.
The former Soviet Republic in Central Asia called on its neighbour last August to stop firing live weapons near its territory after a similar incident.
Bureau Report