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Death toll reaches 3 in restaurant gas blast in St Petersburg

Two more injured people died at the Military Medical Academy

Photo ITAR-TASS

Photo ITAR-TASS

ST. PETERSBURG, March 11 (Itar-Tass) —— The death toll reached three people in the gas blast that triggered a fire at the Harbin restaurant in St. Petersburg last weekend. Two more injured people died at the Military Medical Academy, the press service of the main St. Petersburg investigation department of the Russian Investigation Committee told Itar-Tass on Sunday.

Another wounded person died at the hospital on March 5. Five injured people are undergoing treatment at the hospitals.

Two suspects were detained during the investigation, one of them, who is the deputy director of the restaurant, was arrested under the court verdict.

On March 2, the fire broke out at the Harbin restaurant, which is located on the first floor of a five-storey residential house at 2V, Sredneokhtinsky Avenue in the Krasnogvardeisky district in St. Petersburg. The gas cylinder explosion triggered the fire. The fire has spread on the basement of the restaurant and a two-room flat, which is located on the second floor in the residential house.

A total of 19 people were evacuated from the flats, eight of them were hospitalized with burns and injuries. According to the Ministry of Emergency Situations, seven wounded people are Chinese citizens and a Russian woman was injured.

A criminal case was opened under Article 238 of the Criminal Code for the works and services breaking the fire safety rules. The detectives found that the gas cylinders exploded due to violation of the fire safety rules.

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