Russian rescuers are searching for people trapped under the rubble of a city apartment block that partly collapsed in a suspected gas blast, killing at least three.
Russia's emergencies ministry has told news agency RIA four people were recovered alive from the nine-storey building in Magnitogorsk, an industrial city 1700 km east of Moscow.
State television said it was unclear how many people were still trapped.
The emergencies ministry said the blast, probably caused by a gas leak, damaged 48 apartments.
RIA said it ripped through the building around 6am when many residents were asleep. Monday is a public holiday in Russia.
There have been several similar incidents in Russia in recent years due to ageing infrastructure and poor safety regulations surrounding gas usage.
In 2015, at least five people were killed when a gas explosion damaged an apartment building in the southern Russian city of Volgograd.
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