2 dead, 11 injured in Russia apartment blast

Moscow, Jul 2: At least two people died in an explosion believed to have been caused by household gas, in an apartment block in Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi. The blast, which killed a man and a 14 year-old child, occurred early in the morning on the ground floor of a 12-storey residential building, a police spokesman said.

It completely destroyed the staircase and ceilings on the first three stories. A total of 21 rescuers were working at the scene. City Mayor Vladimir Afanasenkov told RIA Novosti that 11 people had been given medical aid, and that one was being treated in hospital. Police said liquefied petroleum gas cylinders may have detonated in the building.

''Residents of the building were secretly using liquefied gas,'' the spokesman said. Several cylinders have been found in the debris, he added.

Forensic experts were working at the scene to establish the cause of the explosion.

UNI