Death toll in Russia building explosion reaches 21

IANS  |  Moscow 

The death toll from the collapse of an apartment building wrecked by a in Russian city of rose to 21 on Wednesday, officials said.

The blast ripped through the first floor of the building on December 31, bringing a section of the 10-storey apartment block crashing down. In all, 48 flats -- home to 120 people -- were wrecked.

A 11-month-old baby boy was found alive in the rubble on Tuesday and reunited with his mother. His condition was serious but not life-threatening. He was in a hospital and will not undergo surgery for now, the reported.

The rescued baby, called Ivan, spent 35 hours in the freezing cold and was reported to have severe frostbite to his limbs, a head injury and multiple leg fractures.

A day of mourning was marked in Magnitogorsk, in the region about 1,695 km east of Rescuers braved temperatures that fell as low as minus 27 degrees Celsius.

Investigators did not found any traces of explosive at the scene and the was treating it as a

However, a criminal investigation was opened for suspected criminal negligence.

--IANS

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First Published: Wed, January 02 2019. 20:02 IST