Moscow Region Gas Blast Death Toll Up To 3 After 1 More Body Found - Emergencies Ministry

The total number of fatalities in Saturday's Moscow Region gas blast in a five-story residential house in the town of Orekhovo-Zuyevo has reached three people, the Russian Emergencies Ministry told Sputnik

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 04th April, 2020) The total number of fatalities in Saturday's Moscow Region gas blast in a five-story residential house in the town of Orekhovo-Zuyevo has reached three people, the Russian Emergencies Ministry told Sputnik.

"Another body was found under the debris at 21:13 [18:13 GMT]," the ministry's press service said.

The regional ministry branch said that the bodies are of two women and one male.

The number of those injured remains at six people.

The second body was pulled from under the debris earlier in the day.

The blast occurred earlier in the day when a gas boiler exploded in one of the apartments on the third floor of the building, making a section of apartments collapse between the third and fifth floors.

The blast has destroyed five apartments completely and 10 others partially. Some 200 residents have been temporarily lodged in the nearby school and have been provided with conditions for self-isolation amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

Criminal proceedings have be initiated after the incident, with police investigating suspected inadequate safety standards. Investigators will be looking into the work of the utilities company that serviced the building.