Gas Explosion Hits Russian Apartment Building, Death Toll Rises
- ANTARA/Ardika/am.
VIVA – A gas explosion occurred in an apartment building in the south-central Russian city of Novosibirsk on Feb. 9, 2023. The explosion killed at least 12 people, including a 2-year-old child, according to the latest reports from local authorities.
The Thursday morning explosion caused two entrances of the five-story building to collapse, with 30 apartments destroyed by the ensuing fire. Russian news agencies cited the city’s emergency services as saying 12 people were killed, nine others were hospitalized and the fate of three people believed to be in the building was unknown.
Regional Gov. Andrey Travnikov confirms these deaths and says: “The nature of the injuries is varied — there are combined injuries, burns, and carbon monoxide poisoning,”
A criminal case has been opened on the incident, which preliminary data suggests was caused by a gas leak. The Ministry of Housing and Public Utilities of the region said that the gas system of the building was checked in September 2022.
Novosibirsk is the biggest city in Siberia and Russia’s third-largest by population.