This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-46728114
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 1 | Version 2 |
---|---|
Magnitogorsk: Baby found alive after block of flats explosion | Magnitogorsk: Baby found alive after block of flats explosion |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Russian rescuers in the city of Magnitogorsk have pulled an 11-month-old baby from the rubble of a block of flats hit by an explosion on Monday. | |
The boy is conscious and being x-rayed at hospital, Tass news agency quotes doctors as saying. | |
They gave a "positive" forecast, but said the child was in a critical state. | |
He was partially clothed when found, in a city where the daytime temperature is around -17C. | |
The Russian emergencies ministry said the mother had also survived and had arrived at the hospital to visit her son. | |
Chelyabinsk regional governor Boris Dubrovsky reportedly said on his Telegram channel that rescuers "heard crying". | |
Eight bodies have been found so far in the ruins of the building, amid fears the death toll will rise. | Eight bodies have been found so far in the ruins of the building, amid fears the death toll will rise. |
Officials in the Urals region city blamed a gas leak for the blast. Around 36 people are still missing. | |
Authorities earlier announced they had halted their search for survivors until the unstable building could be secured. | |
"It's impossible to continue working in such conditions," emergencies ministry head Yevgeny Zinichev reportedly said, citing a "real threat of part of the building collapsing". | |
It will take about 24 hours to secure the building, the BBC's Sarah Rainsford said on Tuesday at around 13:00 local time (08:00 GMT). | |
Authorities are in a race against time to find survivors, with temperatures expected to fall further overnight. | |
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 Russian television, according to news agency AFP. "The walls were gone. My mother was screaming and my son had been buried." | "I woke up and felt myself falling," one witness told Russian 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 explosion. | Another witness spoke of a "wave of fire" which followed the explosion. |
Russia's Vesti news channel says more than 50 of the block's residents have been accounted for, including the victims. | Russia's Vesti news channel says more than 50 of the block's residents have been accounted for, including the victims. |
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. |
A criminal investigation has been opened into the disaster. | A criminal investigation has been opened into the disaster. |
The city of Magnitogorsk is about 1,695km (1,053 miles) east of Moscow. | The city of Magnitogorsk is about 1,695km (1,053 miles) east of Moscow. |