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Fifth Body Found After Blast In Russian Apartment Block


Members of the emergency services gather near a damaged apartment block after an apparent gas explosion in the town of Shakhty on January 14.
Members of the emergency services gather near a damaged apartment block after an apparent gas explosion in the town of Shakhty on January 14.

Russian rescue workers have pulled a fifth body from the debris of a residential building hit by an explosion in the southern region of Rostov earlier this week.

The Emergency Situations Ministry said the last victim's body was found early on January 16, which has been declared a day of mourning in the city of Shakhty.

Four bodies were earlier recovered from the debris of the nine-story building.

Investigators said they were treating the January 13 incident, in which four apartments were destroyed and 12 more were damaged, as a gas explosion.

INFOGRAPHIC: Domestic Gas Explosions In Russia (click to view)



Four people were hospitalized, including a 2-year-old girl.

The blast follows a similar incident in the southern Urals city of Magnitogorsk on December 31, when an explosion sent a section of a 10-story building crashing to the ground.

Thirty-nine people died in that blast, which authorities say was likely caused by a gas explosion.

Based on reporting by RIA Novosti, Interfax, and TASS

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