MOSCOW: Fourpeople were killed and nearly 70 unaccounted for after a gas explosion torethrough a residential building in Russia yesterday, leaving hundreds without ahome in freezing temperatures on New Year's Eve. A large section of thebuilding collapsed after a gas explosion around 6am local time at the high-risein the industrial city of Magnitogorsk, nearly 1,700 kilometers east of Moscowin the Ural mountains.
Four people wereconfirmed dead and another four, including two children, were hospitalized,officials said, citing the latest information. Sixteen people including sevenchildren have been evacuated. The whereabouts of 28 people have beenestablished but the fate of nearly 70 was unclear. National television saidsome 50 people could be trapped under the rubble. National television broadcastfootage of rescue workers combing through mangled heaps of concrete and metalin temperatures of minus 18 Celsius (minus 0.4 F).
Temperatures inMagnitogorsk were expected to plunge to minus 23 Celsius on New Year's night,the biggest holiday of the year in Russia. Officials warned that two moresections of the Soviet-era high-rise on Karl Marx Street were in danger ofcollapsing. Local resident Anna Koroleva told Echo of Moscow radio that theexplosion shattered windows of nearby buildings. The Kremlin said PresidentVladimir Putin had been "immediately notified of the tragedy inMagnitogorsk".
'Common tragedy'
Located in themineral-rich southern Ural region, Magnitogorsk, with a population of more than400,000 people, is home to one of the country's largest steel producers. Thehigh-rise was built in 1973 and was home to around 1,100 people. Residents wereevacuated to a nearby school. Volunteers offered money, clothing and essentialsto the victims, and some said they were ready to provide temporary shelter tothose in need.
Regional governorBoris Dubrovsky said authorities planned to buy apartments for people who hadlost their homes. Staff from the local Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works (MMK),one of the country's largest steelmakers, took part in the rescue operation.Billionaire Viktor Rashnikov, who controls the plant, called on city residentsto help the victims. "This is our common tragedy and pain," he saidin a statement, adding that MMK would provide financial assistance to those inneed.
Investigatorsopened a criminal probe into the accident, with the FSB security serviceconfirming the blast had been the result of a gas explosion. Such deadly gasexplosions are relatively common in Russia where much of the infrastructuredates back to the Soviet era and safety requirements are often ignored. - AFP