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The death toll in a gas blast that hit an apartment building on the island of Sakhalin in far eastern Russia has risen to ten people, the local emergency services told TASS on Monday.

"Ten people, including four children, died as a result of the explosion. Two other people were hospitalized and another four received medical aid at outpatient clinics," the authorities said.

Specialists inspected the apartment building’s structural safety with the help of a Strela surveying system. This work will be continued, the emergency services said.

A powerful explosion rocked a five-story residential building in the settlement of Tymovskoye on Sakhalin at around 5:03 a.m. Moscow time on Saturday, causing the floors in one of its sections to collapse. It was previously reported that nine people, including four children, lost their lives in the blast.