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More Casualties Feared as Apartment Block Collapses in Central Russia

Yegor Avdeev / TASS

At least two people have died after a Soviet-era apartment building partially collapsed in the central Russian city of Izhevsk.

Emergency services believe a gas explosion may have caused the part of the nine-story building to fall, according to the news website Udmurt.media.

A source in the emergency services told the Interfax news agency that two bodies were recovered from the rubble and that two survivors had been hospitalized. 

Social media users reported hearing screams from beneath the rubble.

The regional branch of Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry confirmed a childcare center on the first floor of the building was not impacted by the explosion, the state-run TASS news agency reported.

Footage captured immediately after the collapse shows dust coming from the building.

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