Twenty-one people known dead in Arhangelsk blast

The number of confirmed dead retrieved from beneath the rubble of an apartment building which exploded here early Tuesday morning has now reached 21, including three children. As reported to Rosbalt by the administration of the Ministry for Emergencies, 24 victims have been found, 16 of whom have been hospitalized. At present, more than 800 people are on site.

The building, located on Soviet Cosmonaut Street, formerly belonged to the Arhangelsk Internal Affairs Administration. As reported to Rosbalt by the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, the nine-entrance building was given over to local municipal authorities in 1996. Four families of police employees lived in the building. At the time of the explosion, one police employee was reported missing, while his mother and wife received serious injuries and are currently in intensive care.