ARKHANGELSK - As a result of an explosion in the lobby of a nine-storey residential building in the city of Arkhangelsk (in the north of Russia) eight people have died and 70 may under the debris, an officer on duty of the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry told RBC.

20 people have been rescued already, including two children. All them were taken to hospital. “It is hard to tell the number of victims, however, there are a lot of them,” a representative of the regional department of civil defense and emergency situations told RBC. There were from 35 to 40 flats in the ruined section of the building.

There is no official version of the incident. According to preliminary data, a gas explosion caused the incident. According to witnesses, gas could be smelt strongly on the debris after the explosion, the regional department of civil defense and emergency situations reported to RBC.

Citing an employee of the Arkhangelsk gas service Echo of Moscow radio reported that two teams of the gas service had visited two neighboring apartment buildings last night to eliminate gas leaks; there were no caps on gas pipes. However, law enforcement agencies do not rule out the version of a terrorist attack.

NTV television reported that an explosion had occurred on the second floor, which caused the collapse of the whole section of the building.Rescue work continues at the site currently. At 7 a.m. a fire broke out under the debris, which has been already extinguished.

A criminal case under Article 109 (death caused by negligence) and Article 168 (damage caused by negligence) of the Russian Criminal Code has been filed, Arkhangelsk regional deputy prosecutor Yury Shperling told RBC.

According to him, the main version is that the incident was caused by a gas explosion in one of the flats of the apartment building. Shperling pointed out that the version of a terrorist attack was also considered. “We do not rule out a terrorist attack, since this is one of the versions to be considered when any explosion is investigated,” the deputy prosecutor said.

As reported earlier, a powerful blast happened in the apartment building 120 on the Prospekt Sovetskikh Kosmonavtov street in Arkhangelsk at 3:25 a.m. Moscow time. As a result, the last of six sections of the nine-storey building was destroyed completely. Windows were broken in neighboring houses. People were evacuated from the ruined residential building. They are temporary located in a nearby kindergarten.

An Il-76 plane of the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry with 59 rescuers including specially trained dogs on board arrived in Arkhangelsk to help local rescuers. Russian Deputy Emergency Situations Minister Yury Vorobyev was also on board the aircraft. He will supervise rescue activities at the site of the tragedy.

Moreover, two Mi-8 helicopters with 34 rescuers on board have left St. Petersburg and Karelia for Arkhangelsk. Specialists will take part in clearing the debris of the collapsed building. “Rescuers have all necessary equipment to work under such conditions,” the Emergency Situations Ministry reported.