A baby boy was been found alive on Tuesday after 35 hours spent in freezing cold in the rubble of a Russian apartment block that partially collapsed in an explosion, emergency officials reported, calling it a miracle.
WEB DESK
The death toll in a gas explosion that hit a residential house in the Russian city of Magnitogorsk has risen to 21. A spokesperson for the Russian Emergencies Ministry today said about 20 people are still missing and six people have been rescued at the scene so far.
On Monday, a natural gas blast hit one of the blocks of a 10-storey residential building in Magnitogorsk, destroying and damaging scores of apartments.
Rescue works continue, while they are hindered by the risk of debris collapsing. A criminal investigation into the accident has been opened, for suspected criminal negligence.
In an apparently unrelated incident, an explosion destroyed a minibus near the apartment block last night, killing three people. Investigators say the vehicle was carrying two gas canisters.
A baby boy was been found alive on Tuesday after 35 hours spent in freezing cold in the rubble of a Russian apartment block that partially collapsed in an explosion, emergency officials reported, calling it a miracle.
The boy’s mother is alive and has already arrived to the hospital.
The blast tore through the building in the city of Magnitogorsk, home of one of Russia’s largest steel plants, early on Monday morning, a public holiday in Russia, when many residents were asleep. Health Minister Veronika Skvortsova said on Monday that the chances of finding survivors were fading.
There have been several similar incidents in the country in recent years due to ageing infrastructure and poor safety regulations about gas usage.