Three die in powerful Moscow blast

At least three people have died after a powerful explosion rocked a five-story apartment block in southeast Moscow. Gas is the suspected cause of the explosion.

Also, fourteen people, including four children, were injured in the incident. Fire fighters rescued twenty residents.

Twenty-six fire teams were brought in to assist and ambulance and emergency workers remain at the scene.

A fire caused by the blast has now been put out. Bomb-disposal experts ruled out terrorism as a possible cause.

According to the Moscow branch of the Emergency Situations Ministry, the building was rocked by an explosion (presumably from household gas) at about midnight. The blaze that followed spread to several apartments on the first and second floors and also into the basement housing a shop. Law enforcement officials suspect a natural gas cylinder exploded inside the shop.

The five-storey apartment building dates back to the Krushchev era.