Catastrophic Canal Flood: One Killed, Houses Destroyed

A severe flood in the White Sea–Baltic Canal north of St. Petersburg resulted in one death and the destruction of multiple houses after a temporary plug was washed away. Authorities are investigating the cause, and rescuers are searching for two missing women.

One person was killed and several houses destroyed on Monday after a temporary plug in the locks of a shipping canal north of St Petersburg was washed away, a state safety committee in Russia's Karelia region said. Seven people were rescued from the floodwaters of the White Sea–Baltic Canal, a 141-mile-long (227-kilometre) shipping lane which connects the Arctic's White Sea to the Gulf of Finland in St Petersburg, the committee said in a post on the VKontakte social network.

It said the flooding began after a temporary plug eroded during reconstruction work, adding that authorities were working to clarify what had happened. Video footage published by Russian media showed the canal transformed into a surging river, propelling tree branches and other wreckage downstream.

Rescuers were still searching for two women, the committee said.