Household gas explosion hits apartment building in Moscow region

Faulty gas equipment is believed to be the cause of an explosion that hit a nine-storey apartment building in the town of Khimki outside Moscow on Friday, an emergency source told TASS.

"Faulty gas equipment and a gas leak are among the possible causes," TASS cited him as saying.

The explosion occurred in an eighth-floor apartment on Friday morning, causing a fire that engulfed five apartments. As a result, a ninth-floor deck and several balconies were destroyed and many windows were shattered.

The incident killed two people, including a child, and left three injured. Another child was pulled out of the rubble alive.