Baby boy alive in rubble of collapse

RESCUERS HAVE pulled a baby boy alive from the rubble of a Russian apartment building which collapsed, killing at least seven people and leaving dozens missing.

The rescue came about 35 hours after a section of the 10-storey building in the city of Magnitogorsk collapsed in an explosion believed to have been triggered by a natural gas leak.

They found the baby after hearing cries amid the debris.

However, the 10-month-old was seriously injured and his recovery prospects were unclear.

“The child was saved because it was in a crib and wrapped warmly,” regional governor Boris Dubrovsky was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency.

The regional emergency ministry said earlier on Tuesday that 37 residents of the building have still not been accounted for.

The rescue operation was temporarily halted while workers tried to remove or stabilise other sections of the building which were also in danger of collapse.

The structure was constructed from concrete panels. One that was left hanging in the collapsed section of the building came crashing down as television stations aired live broadcasts from the scene.

Hopes of finding survivors were fading because of the harsh cold, with temperatures dropping overnight to around minus 18C.

Seven bodies have so far been recovered and five injured survivors taken to hospital.

Magnitogorsk has a population of 400,000 and is about 870 miles (1,400km) south-east of Moscow.

Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the accident site about 870 miles southeast of Moscow and went to a local hospital where injured residents were taken.