A gas explosion in a residential building in Tula, about 200 kilometres south of Moscow, killed at least five people on Tuesday evening.
Six others are still missing, the Russian news agency Tass reported. A gas leak is believed to have caused the explosion. A five-story building partially collapsed.
“There are certainly between three and six people still under the rubble,” the authorities said. The explosion happened Tuesday afternoon. Although five people were buried and died, seven people could be freed. Three of them were taken to hospital, but their lives were not in danger.
An investigation was launched to find out the exact cause and those responsible for the gas leak.