4 die in Russia building collapse
MOSCOW (AP) — Hundreds of rescue workers faced bitterly cold weather in Russia’s Ural Mountains region Monday as they searched for survivors in the hulking concrete blocks from a partially collapsed apartment building where at least four people died.
The nation’s top investigative agency, the Investigative Committee, said an explosion triggered by a gas leak apparently caused the pre-dawn collapse in the industrial city of Magnitogorsk. The New Year’s Eve accident shocked Russians and marred the mood on the nation’s most beloved holiday.
Authorities said five people were hospitalized with injuries and 35 others remained unaccounted for. Russian officials acknowledged that the odds of finding anyone alive in the debris looked increasingly slim given the extreme weather.
Nearly 1,400 rescue workers searched in temperatures of -17 degrees Celsius (1.4 degrees Fahrenheit). The overnight forecast called for temperatures to plunge to -24 degrees Celsius (-17 F) overnight.
“The chances are reducing with time,” Health Minister Veronika Skvortsova responded curtly when pressed by reporters on the likelihood of finding trapped survivors. “But incredible stories do happen.”
Emergency officials deployed powerful heaters to raise temperatures in the wreckage in case anyone trapped there was at risk of dying of hypothermia.
“We must work as quickly as we can as temperatures don’t give us any time to linger,” Deputy Emergency Minister Pavel Baryshev said during a conference call with local officials.
Officials said they had all the necessary equipment for a thorough search, but the work was proceeding slowly due to fear other sections of the 10-story building might collapse. Residents of some sections were evacuated as a precaution.
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.