The wall of the collapsed seventh block of the residential house that was hit by a gas explosion in the Russian city of Magnitogorsk will be dismantled because of the threat of further collapse, a spokesperson for the Russian Emergencies Ministry told Sputnik on Tuesday.
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 01st January, 2019) The wall of the collapsed seventh block of the residential house that was hit by a gas explosion in the Russian city of Magnitogorsk will be dismantled because of the threat of further collapse, a spokesperson for the Russian Emergencies Ministry told Sputnik on Tuesday.
"A decision on dismantling hanging parts and the wall of the seventh block has been made," the spokesperson said.
He pointed out that there was a real threat of further collapse of the building.
"The wall of the seventh block is becoming less stable and it is impossible to continue the [search and rescue] work under such circumstances," the Emergencies Ministry said in a statement citing Minister Yevgeny Zinichev.
The ministry noted that the search and rescue operation would continue after elimination of the collapse threat.
According to the Emergencies Ministry, the gas blast fully destroyed 35 apartments and damaged 10 others.
The ministry also decided to expand the cordoned area around the collapsed block by 40 meters (over 130 feet) due to the existing threat.
A natural gas blast hit on Monday one of the blocks of a 10-storey building in Magnitogorsk, the Chelyabinsk region, leaving at least eight people dead, five injured and dozens missing.
