MAGNITOGORSK, January 3. /TASS/. The rescue operation on the site of the residential building collapse in Magnitogorsk has finished, there are no bodies left in the rubble, first deputy head of the Russian Emergencies Ministry Alexander Chupriyan told reporters on Thursday.
"Half an hour ago, we have recovered the last body. The search and rescue operation is over," he said.
Chupriyan highlighted the difficulty of the search and rescue operation, which was carried out under threat of further collapse of the building, adding that no rescue workers received any injuries. "The wall’s fluctuations reached 3 centimeters," he said.
A section of a ten-story apartment block collapsed in Magnitogorsk on December 31. According to the latest data, the accident claimed the lives of 39 people. Six people were injured, five of them, including two children, are in hospitals. A woman was discharged from a hospital in Magnitogorsk on January 2.
The Russian Investigative Committee views a household gas explosion as the main cause of the accident. On Tuesday, a Russian Investigative Committee spokesperson stated that no traces of explosives had been discovered at the collapse site. On Thursday, Magnitogorsk Mayor Sergei Berdnikov stated that there is no connection between the December 31 gas explosion and the January 1 car blast in Magnitogorsk, despite several publications’ reports to the contrary.