Gas explosion at apartment building in southwest Russia kills 10

Gas explosion at apartment building in southwest Russia kills 10

2012-02-29 19:00:15 GMT+7 (ICT)

ASTRAKHAN, Russia (BNO NEWS) -- The death toll as a result of a gas explosion at a residential building in southwestern Russia on Monday has risen to at least 10, emergency officials said on Wednesday. More than a dozen others were injured.

The incident occurred on Monday when a gas explosion destroyed a part of the third floor of a nine-story residential building in Astrakhan, the administrative center of Astrakhan Oblast. Sections of the floors above later also collapsed, leaving a gaping hole in the building.

Russian Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin told RIA Novosti that the blast may have been caused by safety violations concerning required repair of the building or a possible suicide attempt by one of the building's occupants, but investigations are still ongoing.

As of Wednesday, officials said ten bodies had been recovered while 15 people have been reported injured. Search and rescue teams are continuing to work at the site of the accident to make sure no one is still trapped under the rubble.

According to local authorities, the victims' relatives, as well as those occupants whose apartments were damaged, will receive a compensation of one million rubles ($33,000). Members of the country's Investigative Committee have opened a case against the building's engineers on fire safety violation charges.

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