Six people, including three children, have been killed and five injured after an explosion caused by a gas leak destroyed two upper levels of a five-story apartment block in the city of Stupino, south of Moscow.
The Moscow regional directorate of the Emergency Ministry said initially that two people, including a 12-year-old girl, were killed by the explosion, which took place on April 11, adding that the blast forced the evacuation of 60 people, including 10 children.
The directorate said hours later that rescue teams recovered four more bodies from the debris.
Moscow regional Governor Andrei Vorobyov said the damaged building's restoration may take up to eight months if experts deem it is possible to be repaired. If not, it will be demolished.
Gas explosions occur with some frequency in Russia due to aging pipelines and infrastructure, as well as lax safety standards.
