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 child, according to local emergency services.
Regional Governor Andrey Travnikov said nine people had been taken to hospital and two in intensive care.
Authorities had previously said that ten people, including two children, who may have been inside when the explosion occurred at 7:43 a.m. remained missing.
“The nature of the injuries is varied: there are combined injuries, burns, and carbon monoxide poisoning,” Travnikov said.
EXPLOSION IN THE PEDESTRIAN AVENUE OF ISTANBUL; REPORTED DEATHS
Emergency service employees work at the site of a five-story residential building that collapsed after the gas explosion in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, Russia, on February 9, 2023. (Russian Emergencies Ministry press service via AP)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The explosion caused two entrances to the five-story building to collapse, with 30 apartments destroyed in the ensuing fire.
A criminal case has been opened over the incident, which preliminary data suggests was caused by a gas leak. The region’s Ministry of Housing and Public Services said the building’s gas system was serviced in September 2022.
Novosibirsk is the largest city in Siberia and the third largest in Russia by population.
