Gas explosion in Russia apartment block kills 3 people, many missing

Russia’s Investigative Committee launched a criminal case. The investigation will consider all possible versions of what happened, according to a statement.

Three people died and another 79 remain unaccounted for after a gas explosion in a residential building in Russia on Monday morning.

Emergency personnel work at the site of collapsed apartment building after a suspected gas blast in Magnitogorsk, Russia December 31, 2018. (Reuters)

Russia’s Investigative Committee launched a criminal case. The investigation will consider all possible versions of what happened, according to a statement. “Currently, the priority version is explosion of utility gas,” it said.

The blast at about 6 am local time destroyed one of the entrances to the 9-story house, damaging 48 apartments, according to the statement from the Emergency Ministry’s regional department. Search and rescue operations are being carried out.

There were 110 people registered as residents for that particular entrance, Tass reported, citing Oleg Klimov, deputy governor of the Chelyabinsk region near the Ural mountains. Three people were removed from the rubble alive, he said. Four people were hospitalized, Tass said, citing the press office of the Healthcare Ministry’s regional department.