Moscow, Aug 9
A gas-air mixture explosion rocked a brick building in Sterlitamak, Russia's Bashkortostan Republic, on Saturday, injuring 36 people, said Alexei Kuznetsov, aide to Russia's Minister of Health Mikhail Murashko.
"As of now, 36 people have been injured, 22 of whom have been hospitalised, with the exact number still being determined," the regional investigators' statement said.
Earlier reports noted that 27 people were hospitalised after the explosion at the Bashkir Soda Company.
"There is no threat to the population's life and health. Continuous monitoring of environmental quality has been organised in the adjacent area. All those injured who were working in the immediate vicinity at the time of the incident received necessary emergency assistance on site and were immediately taken to medical institutions for specialised care. There are no fatalities," it said.
Bashkortostan is a Russian federal subject about 1,200 km east of Moscow.
Rescuers recovered the bodies following a gas explosion in an apartment building in Russia's Saratov region, Yuri Yurin, head of the regional security department said.