MOSCOW, Aug. 20 (UPI) -- An explosion leveled a 45-foot-wide section of a five-story apartment building in Moscow late Tuesday, killing at least one person, authorities said. Emergency officials feared up to 25 people could be trapped in the wreckage.
Dmitry Paskevich, a spokesman for the Emergency Situations Ministry, said the explosion killed one and injured at least four.
The Itar-Tass news agency, however, said eight people were pulled out of the rubble, including a woman with burns over 80 percent of her body and three others who were seriously injured. At least 40 apartments had been destroyed.
The cause of the blast was under investigation, but officials said it was probably the result of a gas leak.
The explosion happened just after 11 p.m. Itar-Tass said there were around 166 people in the apartment building when the blast occurred.
Teams from the FSB domestic security service were on the scene with rescue dogs and officials cordoned off the area.
