A large section of the high-rise building in the industrial city of Magnitogorsk collapsed after the blast at about 6am local time (0100 GMT) on Monday. Authorities initially said up to 70 residents in the collapsed section of the building were missing, but later tracked some of them down. Local news quoted the emergencies minister, Yevgeny Zinichev, as saying between 36 and 40 people might be under the rubble. National television broadcast footage of rescue workers combing through mangled heaps of concrete and metal in temperatures of -18C (0.4F). The billionaire Viktor Rashnikov, who controls the plant, called on city residents to help the victims.

Source: The Guardian December 31, 2018 06:31 UTC