2019-01-02 19:38 update: 2019-01-05, 16:06
Photo PAP/EPA
Polish President Andrzej Duda on Wednesday sent condolences to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin over a tragic explosion that devastated a block of flats in Magnitogorsk, central Russia, and claimed the lives of at least 21 people.
"It is with great sorrow that I received the news about the tragic gas explosion in an apartment building in Magnitogorsk. On behalf of the authorities of the Republic of Poland, I would like to offer you condolences for all those who have lost their close ones in this disaster. Poles join in pain with the victims' families and with the injured," Andrzej Duda wrote.
A staircase of a 1973 ten-storey block of flats collapsed on Monday morning local time in Magnitogorsk due to a suspected gas explosion, completely destroying or damaging 48 flats. So far rescuers have identified 21 bodies in the rubble. Twenty people are still considered missing.
The media have speculated that a bomb could have been planted in the apartment block, but Russia's investigation committee said late on Tuesday it had not found any traces of explosives on the site. (PAP)
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