Ukraine explosion toll reaches 26 and rising

Source: Agencies  |   2008-12-27  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

The death toll from an explosion that leveled an apartment building in southern Ukraine reached 26 yesterday as the country observed a day of national mourning, officials said.

The search for survivors continued after rescuers pulled 21 people from under the mounds of concrete and glass following Wednesday's huge blast at the five-story building in the Crimean peninsula resort of Yevpatoriya.

But officials do not know how many people could remain beneath the rubble and hold out little hope of finding anyone else alive with temperatures over the two nights since the blast reaching minus 6 degrees Celsius.

The entire central section of the building came down, exposing apartments on either side. Sixty-two people were registered inhabitants of the destroyed section of the apartment and rescuers paused their work every hour to listen for cries for help. Two children were among those killed, officials said.

Yesterday was designated a day of national mourning in Ukraine, with entertainment events canceled and flags lowered to half-mast.

Officials believe oxygen canisters in the building's basement exploded, said Volodymyr Ivanov, a spokesman for Crimea's branch of the Emergency Situations ministry.

Ivanov said one canister was found intact and sent to forensic investigators. He also said that other possible causes had not been ruled out, without elaborating. Neglect of safety precautions has led to frequent explosions in buildings in the ex-Soviet nation.