Russian apartment block hit by gas blast during lockdown

A gas explosion at a residential block near Moscow killed at least one person and injured four on Saturday, destroying several floors of the building housing 80 apartments, Russia's emergency ministry said. The blast occurred in the first week that residents of Moscow and the surrounding region have been required to stay at home as part of quarantine measures aimed at stopping the spread of the new coronavirus.

The explosion took place in the town of Orekhovo-Zuyevo, 85 km east of Moscow, on the third floor of the five-story block, the ministry said. Images posted on social media showed a blackened building with several caved-in floors, and clouds of dust enveloping a playground and parking lot below. Such explosions are not uncommon in Russian residential buildings, many of which were constructed during the Soviet era and have poor safety regulations regarding gas use.

A gas explosion in a 10-story apartment block in the city of Magnitogorsk on Dec. 31, 2018, killed 39 people. Another gas blast in the same city last week caused a fire to break out in six apartments and killed two people.