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The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
World
Georgi Kantchev

Search for Survivors Ends After Deadly Russian Apartment Blast

(Credit: stringer/Reuters)

MOSCOW—Thirty-nine people have died following an explosion at a central Russian apartment block earlier this week, according to Russian authorities, and rescue workers have called off the search for survivors.

The blast occurred on New Year’s Eve, ripping through the ten-story building in the industrial city of Magnitogorsk, in what authorities say was a gas leak. Part of the building collapsed, destroying 48 flats.

Six of the dead are children, the Russian Interfax news agency reported.

In the aftermath of the explosion, some Russian media reported it could have been an act of terrorism, but no traces of explosives have been found, according to the Investigative Committee of Russia.

Authorities have opened a probe for suspected criminal negligence.

Rescuers ended their search for survivors Thursday, saying no more people were left under the rubble, according to the official Russian news agency, TASS. Psychologists are working with relatives of the victims.

An 11-month-old boy was found alive in the ruins Tuesday after surviving 35 hours in the bitter cold. He was flown to Moscow for medical treatment.

Temperatures in Magnitogorsk, a city of 400,000 people in the Ural region, fall to under 10 degrees Fahrenheit during the day and drop lower at night.

Gas explosions in residential and commercial property aren’t uncommon in Russia, due to often-poor maintenance and infrastructure dating back to Soviet times.

Write to Georgi Kantchev at georgi.kantchev@wsj.com

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