MOSCOW — The number of people killed in an apartment building in central Russia that partly collapsed after an explosion rose to 22 on Wednesday, as hope dwindled that 20 others still missing would be found alive. Rescue work at the site was interrupted for long periods because of fears that more walls would crumble, more than 48 hours after the explosion at 6 a.m. on Monday in the city of Magnitogorsk caught many residents asleep in their beds. Only one ambulance was standing by, according to local news reports, signaling the diminished chances of pulling more residents from the pancaked rubble of some 25 apartments in the freezing cold. The apartment complex was home to around 1,300 people before the explosion, which left a gaping hole in the extensive facade. But the Emergencies Ministry declared that most of the building remained fit for habitation.

Source: New York Times January 02, 2019 15:22 UTC