MOSCOW, September 11. /TASS/. A body of a man was discovered under the rubble following a gas explosion in the Lipetsk Region in central Russia, the press service of the Lipetsk Region’s Investigative Committee’s investigative department told TASS.

"A third body was found under the rubble," the statement said. Earlier, a source in the emergency services reported that a body of an elderly man was found.

According to the press service, the deceased was born in 1935. According to preliminary data, he resided in an apartment on the first floor where the collapse occurred.

Currently, the search and rescue works continue, the regional main directorate of the Emergencies Ministry told TASS. According to preliminary data, six people were injured in the blast, three were killed.

In the early hours of Saturday, a gas explosion occurred in a residential building in the Solidarnost settlement in the Eletsky District of the Lipetsk Region. Half of the building numbering 16 apartments was completely destroyed. According to preliminary data, 23 people were evacuated from the building. A gas leak may have been the cause of the explosion, a criminal case was opened on providing services not complying with safety requirements.