At least 15 people were killed and 17 more injured on Thursday in a café explosion in Siberia, which apparently was caused by a natural gas leak.
Russian Emergency Situations Ministry spokesperson Irina Andriyanova said that the explosion had completely destroyed the building housing a small café in the city of Chita in southern Siberia, approximately 4 700km east of Moscow.
She said that according to preliminary information, the blast was apparently sparked by a natural gas leak.
Neglect of safety precautions has led to frequent gas explosions in Russian apartment buildings and public facilities.
A five-story apartment building right next to the café suffered minor damage, Andriyanova said.
About 160 rescuers backed by dozens of bulldozers, cranes and trucks searched through the rubble for victims’ bodies. — Sapa-AP