MOSCOW, March 9. /TASS/. Rescuers have saved a child from under the rubble at the site of a gas explosion in an apartment building in Chita, the Russian Emergencies Ministry's press service told TASS on Thursday.

"After a declared minute of silence, rescuers heard the child's voice coming from under the concrete slabs. They were disassembled. The rescuers <...> took the victim out and handed him over to the ambulance," the press service said.

Thus, the number of those rescued reached 12 people, including three children. Five people were pulled out from under the rubble. According to the Emergencies Ministry, there are no more people under the debris.

The Health Ministry’s Zabaykalsky Region branch reported earlier that the number of gas explosion victims had risen to 11. "According to operational data, 11 people, including three children, have fallen victim to the gas explosion in Antipikha," the ministry said.

The Russian Emergencies Ministry received a report about a domestic gas explosion without subsequent combustion on the fifth floor of a five-story apartment building on Borovaya Street in Chita at 8:50 a.m. Moscow time. The balconies of the apartments on the fourth and fifth floors collapsed. According to the emergency services, the accident was caused by a depressurized gas cylinder, which damaged at least five apartments.