MOSCOW - A fire and explosions that ripped through an army munitions storage site in Far Eastern Russia killed two military officers and injured five others, Russian media reported Thursday.

The blaze erupted in an area where armed artillery pieces were being stored at a military unit in the Birobidzhan region, 5,900 kilometers (3,600 miles) east of Moscow, news agencies and networks reported, citing regional officials.

Two lieutenants were killed by explosions as they tried to drive trucks loaded with ammunition away from the fire, the ITAR-Tass and Interfax news agencies reported. ITAR-Tass said three other military personnel were hospitalized and two received light injuries.

The blaze, which broke out late Wednesday, was extinguished several hours later on Thursday, reports said.

A private at the unit who was suspected of causing the fire while trying to steal gasoline from the munitions depot was detained, ITAR-Tass and Interfax reported, citing regional military prosecutors. Prosecutors said the private had entered the depot at night to siphon gasoline from a tank and that a torch he was using to see in the dark ignited the fire, Interfax reported.

Emergency officials had said late Wednesday that soldiers were evacuated from their barracks near the site in Babstovo, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) from the regional capital, but that there were no injuries.

Explosions and fires have been a persistent problem at Russian munitions dumps, particularly in the Far East.