All news

Fire in Bronnitsy extinguished

According to police, four people -- three pensioners and a young man -- are missing

MOSCOW, October 18 (Itar-Tass) —— Fire-fighters have completely extinguished the blaze that broke out in an apartment building in Bronnitsy, the Moscow Region, after a gas explosion, a source of the Russian Emergencies Ministry's information department told Itar-Tass.

The fire was extinguished at 09:55 Moscow time. Preparation is underway there to begin cleanup work, the source said.

Gas exploded on the fourth floor in the first section of the five-storey building at 15:45 the day before. A fire broke out there after the explosion. Walls of apartments collapsed between the third and fourth floors, and outer walls collapsed between the fourth and fifth floors.

Three people were injured. One of them was taken to hospital. According to police, four people -- three pensioners and a young man -- are missing.

One hundred and sixty nine people resided in the building. They are accommodated in homes of their relatives or friends or temporary dwelling stations.

A regional police source told Itar-Tass that after the fire 21 flats were unfit for residence. Nine were completely destroyed.

Eighty seven policemen of the Ramenskoye district police department ensured order at the site and fought the blaze. There were 14 police cars, nine policemen and five patrol cars of the traffic police, 331 EMERCOM specialists and 93 special machines.