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Dozens missing in deadly Russia explosion in Magnitogorsk | Dozens missing in deadly Russia explosion in Magnitogorsk |
(about 5 hours later) | |
Rescuers are searching for survivors in the central Russian city of Magnitogorsk, where an explosion devastated a block of flats, killing at least four people. | Rescuers are searching for survivors in the central Russian city of Magnitogorsk, where an explosion devastated a block of flats, killing at least four people. |
Officials in the city, in the Urals region, say a gas leak caused the blast. About 40 people are missing. | Officials in the city, in the Urals region, say a gas leak caused the blast. About 40 people are missing. |
President Vladimir Putin has arrived in the city to assess the situation. | President Vladimir Putin has arrived in the city to assess the situation. |
The building was home to 120 people, and 48 flats collapsed in the blast. | The building was home to 120 people, and 48 flats collapsed in the blast. |
"I woke up and felt myself falling," one witness told Russia television, according to news agency AFP. "The walls were gone. My mother was screaming and my son had been buried." | |
Another witness spoke of a "wave of fire" which followed the blast. | |
'Tragedy' | |
Rescue workers are now in a race against time to find survivors, as the daytime temperature in the industrial city is around -17C, falling further overnight. | |
Few, if any, are expected to be pulled from the rubble, but rescue workers are due to work through the night in the hope of finding people alive. | |
Russia's Vesti news channel says officials have accounted for more than 50 of the block's residents, including the victims. | Russia's Vesti news channel says officials have accounted for more than 50 of the block's residents, including the victims. |
At least 16 survivors have been evacuated from the scene, including seven children. Five injured people, including two children, were taken to hospital, according to officials. | |
President Putin, who came to see the rescue operation for himself, described it as a "tragedy", adding that those affected would get every assistance. | |
"First of all, I would like to express my condolences to the families of the victims, and to assure those affected that we will do everything to help and support them," he said. | |
The blast, at 06:02 local time (01:02 GMT) is thought to have ripped through the first floor, which houses some offices, and the seven storeys above then collapsed. Nearby flats were also damaged. | The blast, at 06:02 local time (01:02 GMT) is thought to have ripped through the first floor, which houses some offices, and the seven storeys above then collapsed. Nearby flats were also damaged. |
There are concerns another two sections of the block, which was built in 1973, could collapse. | |
A criminal investigation has been opened into the disaster. | |
The city is about 1,695km (1,053 miles) east of Moscow. | The city is about 1,695km (1,053 miles) east of Moscow. |