Damage: Putin denies state approved blastings caused town to be flooded

An aerial picture taken from a helicopter shows the floodaffected town of Tulun after Russia’s Irkutsk region was battered by heavy rains during the week. Around 11,000 houses were destroyed by severe flooding, while sections of motorway were also completely submerged and several bridges were damaged during an unprecedented level of rainfall. The Russian news agency, Tass, reported at least 25 people had lost their lives and hundreds more had been hospitalised as a result of the floods, however president Vladimir Putin has refuted accusations the flooding was exacerbated by several rounds of state-sponsored blasting works in the region. A state of emergency has since been declared.