Several hurt in Moscow apartment building blast
At least eight people were injured when an explosion tore through a 14-storey Moscow apartment building today.
The blast hit at around 4 am local time (1am Irish time), destroying several apartments in the dilapidated concrete-panel building on Chertanovsky Street in the south of the city.
Two people were taken to hospital with injuries from the blast, said Valery Buzovkin, a police spokesman at the scene. But the ITAR-Tass news agency reported that eight people were hurt.
The cause of the blast was not immediately determined, although authorities said initial indications were that it was caused by gas.
Sofia Alimova, who lives on the building’s 10th floor, said the apartment where the blast was centred consisted of one room, usually occupied by a couple.
“We heard a loud bang and I ran to the window because all the car alarms were going off,” she said.
“I looked out the window and it seemed quiet, but a neighbour called and said there was an explosion on the 4th floor.
“I put my coat on over my night-gown and left as quickly as I could.”
Natural gas explosions in Russia’s often-shabby apartment buildings are not uncommon.
But concern with terrorism is high in the wake of a series of explosions that authorities blame on Chechen separatist rebels, including last month’s bombing on the Moscow subway that killed 41 people.
Some 300 people died in apartment explosions in September 1999 that officials blamed on the rebels.
Security concerns have also risen in the Russian capital ahead of next Sunday’s presidential elections, with authorities speculating that terrorists could launch attacks to disrupt the voting or tarnish incumbent President Vladimir Putin, who is expected to win easily.
Yesterday police said that an explosion at a building in central Moscow that reportedly was being converted into a Jewish school was caused by a bomb.
