An apparent gas explosion at an apartment building in the south-central Russian city of Novosibirsk on Thursday morning killed at least seven people, including a 2-year-old boy, according to local emergency services.
Regional governor Andrey Travnikov said nine people were taken to hospital, including two in intensive care.
Earlier, authorities said ten people, including two children, who may have been inside when the blast occurred at 7.43am were left missing.
“The nature of the injuries is varied: there are combined wounds, burns and carbon monoxide poisoning,” Travnikov said.
EXPLOSION ON ISTANBUL PEDESTRIAN AVENUE; DECIDED DEATHS
Emergency services workers work in a five-story residential building that collapsed after a gas explosion in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, Russia, February 9, 2023. (Press service of the Russian Emergencies Ministry via AP)
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The blast collapsed two entrances to the five-story building, with 30 apartments destroyed in the ensuing fire.
A criminal case has been opened on the incident, which according to the first data would have been caused by a gas leak. The region’s Ministry of Housing and Utilities said the building’s gas system was checked in September 2022.
Novosibirsk is the largest city in Siberia and the third largest in Russia.
