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Over24,000 people mobilized to deal with meteorite fall consequences

A total of 3,500 units of various vehicles are used in the work

YEKATERINBURG, February 16 (Itar-Tass) - More than 24,000 people are mobilized to deal with the meteor shower consequences in the Chelyabinsk Region, the press service of the region's governor told Itar-Tass on Saturday.

A total of 3,500 units of various vehicles are used in the work.

The forces are brought not only from the Ural region, but also from other regions of the country, Russian Emergencies Minister Vladimir Puchkov said.

According to the preliminary estimates, more than 3,700 apartment buildings are damaged. Medical care was provided for about 1,200 people, the minister said.

Damage from the meteorite fall is estimated at more than a billion roubles. Compensation will be paid to all the affected people, Governor Mikhail Yurevich said.

More than a thousand volunteers participate in the work, the governor's press service said.

Volunteers on Friday went to sites that were hit by the blast wave. They helped to remove shattered glass and close broken windows with plastic film. On Saturday, volunteers were sent to take measurements, replace windows and do other work to eliminate consequences of the meteor strike. Collection of relief aid things -- warm clothes, food products and so on -- has been organized.

More and more calls from volunteers are received, the press service noted.

The Sverdlovsk voluntary movement Roads of the Good has also organized raising of funds to replace damaged windows in children's centres hit by the blast wave.

The meteor shower was seen over Russia's Tyumen, Sverdlovsk, Chelyabinsk and Kurgan regions and Bashkiria on Friday morning. Three supposed places of the fall of meteorite fragments are found in the Chelyabinsk Region -- two in the Chebarkul district and one in the Zlatoust district. However, there have been no reports so far that meteorite fragments are found.

Almost 3,000 buildings were damaged in the Chelyabinsk Region, the Emergencies Ministry said.

A total of 2,962 buildings, including 34 hospitals, eleven social centres, 361 schools and kindergartens, were damaged in Chelyabinsk and other residential areas. More than a thousand people were injured. Fifty of them were hospitalized.

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