Rescuers removed ten people from under the debris in the blasted cafe in Chita (the city in the Trans-Baikalia region in the south of Siberia), RIA Novosti was told in the Russian Interior Ministry on Thursday.
"Staff members of the Civil Defense and Emergencies Department have taken out ten injured people from under the debris. The rescue work continues," said the source.
The chief of the regional Interior Department and an investigation group have arrived at the place of the accident, he added.
According to the preliminary data, the explosion killed nine people; twelve injured people have been hospitalized.
At 10:55, an explosion thundered in one of the cafes in Chita.
The Onon Cafe, attached to a five-storey building, collapsed.
Dozens of staff members of the Emergencies Ministry and eight pieces of equipment are working now at the place of the accident.
The ministry's information department told RIA Novosti that the tragedy was caused by the explosion of a balloon with domestic gas. This version is shared by the rescuers and the law enforcers.
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