A Land Cruiser driven by Vladimir Yepifanov, a Russian-appointed deputy prime minister’s aide for economic development in Zaporizhzhya region, exploded on the Yevpatoria Highway in annexed Crimea, Telegram channels Baza and Mash reported.
Along with Yepifanov in the car were his secretary and a security guard. All of them were hospitalized with burns.
The explosion of a gas cylinder in a car on the Yevpatoria highway was also reported by Oleg Kryuchkov, adviser to the head of the peninsula, without naming the names and positions of the victims.
The causes of the explosion are being investigated. Baza writes that a gas cylinder installed on the car exploded, after which the car lost control. According to the Assistant Deputy Prime Minister, the day before the gas cylinder was checked at the service station in Simferopol.
In the occupied Zaporizhzhya region 42-year-old Epifanov took the post of acting minister of economic development, joined the party “United Russia.” In February 2023 he became head of the business association “Opora Russia” created by Russian authorities in the Zaporizhzya region.
