The bodies of five people have been found during a search and rescue operation at the scene of a domestic gas explosion in a nine-storey building in Volgograd. Four of them were in the apartment, and the other resident was found on one of the floors.
The gas explosion occurred today in Volgograd at about 11:50 AM MSK in one of the houses of Cosmonauts' Street. It led to the collapse of the building from the ninth to the first floors. In addition, another explosion took place after the fire had already started.
According to investigators, the gas explosion occurred in one of the apartments on the seventh floor. It is known that 242 people were registered aa resident in the building.
Rescue services of the city arrived at the scene after the explosions. 36 apartments were destroyed in the accident. 227 people asked to be provided with temporary accommodation. The evacuated residents were accommodated in nearby schools with a condition to transfer them to a hotel.
After the accident 11 people were taken to hospital. "Among them were two children and a pregnant woman. The condition of three of the injured is serious, the condition of the others is considered moderate,’’ the director of the Department of Public Health and the Ministry of Health and Communications of the Russian Federation Oleg Salagaev said.
By lunchtime, rescuers managed to contain the fire. After that they started removing debris. EMERCOM Minister Vladimir Puchkov asked rescuers to explore and inspect every inch of the building.
The department has information about eight residents. "Three apartments have not been inspected yet. According to the Federal Migration Service, eight people were registered there. Now their whereabouts is being established,’’ the head of the National Center for Crisis Management of Emergency Situations Ministry Viktor Yatsutsenko said.
According to EMERCOM, more than 10 people may be under the debris. The declared minute of silence yielded no results.
