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Six people were killed, while another four suffered injuries as a nine-storey residential building partly collapsed on Thursday in Izhevsk, Ria Novosti reported.

The collapsed section of the building housed 16 apartments where a total of 99 people lived. The city administration said that eight apartments were completely destroyed. A crisis team has been set up in order to provide assistance to the affected people. Head of Izhevsk Yuri Tyurin said that after the building was fully explored, a decision would be made on resettling those who had lost their homes.

Work to clear the rubble continues, emergency sources said, adding that canine teams were exploring the rubble. According to preliminary reports two children are among the victims of the incident which is believed took place due to a household gas blast

Russia’s Investigative Committee has launched a criminal case over the incident. According to the committee’s sources, investigative activities are underway. The building’s residents have been evacuated and provided with temporary accommodation in two nearby schools.