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Three dead, nine hospitalized after household gas blast in Russia

MOSCOW, February 16. /TASS/. Three people died and nine others were hospitalized after a household gas explosion in a residential building in Russia’s Yaroslavl early on Tuesday, the emergencies ministry said.

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"As a result of the household gas blast, nine people were taken to hospitals and three were killed, according to updated information," a ministry official said. All the killed persons are women, he added.

The explosion in a five-storey residential house in Yaroslavl, central European Russia, occurred at 4.20 a.m. Moscow Time (0120GMT) on Tuesday. A staircase collapsed from the first to the fifth floor. Five apartments were completely destroyed and ten others were partially damaged.

There was no subsequent fire in the house.

A criminal investigation has been launched into implementation of works or providing services that failed to meet security requirements.

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