OT: Hundreds Feared Buried In Moscow Blast

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Is this the beginning of civil war for Russia? Will Russia be able to remediate anything while this is happening?

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Hundreds Feared Buried In Moscow Blast

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Hundreds were feared buried in the rubble after a blast tore through a block of flats on the outskirts of Moscow early Thursday, an Emergencies Ministry spokeswoman said.

"Sixteen people have been pulled out alive, among them six children. There are about 300 people buried. Seventy-two apartments collapsed, so that's how they count -- multiplying by three," the spokeswoman said by telephone.

She said apartments above two of the six entrances to the nine-story block of flats at number 19 Guryanov street in the southeast of Moscow had collapsed. Sixty ambulances were on the scene and five rescue teams were working to recover victims.

She said the cause of the blast had not been determined, although the preliminary conclusion was that it was a gas explosion. Police were on the scene investigating.

The blast occurred late at night when most people would have been asleep in their apartments.

Although there was no immediate suggestion of foul play, the blast followed a bomb explosion that injured dozens in a Moscow shopping mall and a devastating car-bomb attack that killed scores in an apartment block in the southern Dagestan region, where Russian forces are battling Islamic gu

-- I'm not here (I never@posted.this), September 08, 1999

Answers

off

-- I'm not here (I didn't screw up@the ital.tag : )), September 08, 1999.

I know you are not here and you didn't post this, but did this happen today, or was this from a few days (weeks?) ago?

Got a link handy?

-- semper paratus (always@ready.now), September 08, 1999.


Link

9/8/99 -- 7:54 PM

URGENT ^Explosion destroys scores of apartments in Moscow suburbs MOSCOW (AP) - An explosion early Thursday in a nine-story apartment block in Moscow.....(more @ link)

-- Deborah (infowars@yahoo.com), September 08, 1999.


Heard anymore?

-- Moore Dinty moore (not@thistime.com), September 08, 1999.

Yahoo! News Top Stories Headlines
Wednesday September 8 9:42 PM ET

Four Dead, 147 Feared Buried In Moscow Blast

By Peter Graff
MOSCOW (Reuters) - At least 11 people were killed and more than 140 were feared buried in rubble Thursday after a blast tore through a block of flats on the outskirts of Moscow as residents slept in their beds, officials said.

An Emergencies Ministry spokeswoman told Reuters 86 people had been taken to hospital after being dragged from the destroyed nine-story building -- now just a yawning hole in a line of apartments with white smoke swirling from the wreckage.

The blast, possibly a gas explosion, blew out windows over a wide area in and around Guryanov Street in southeast Moscow. The body of young woman in her underwear lay amid the ruins.

``It is already clear 202 people lived in these two entrances,'' the ministry spokeswoman said. ``It's difficult to say but there could be 147 under there.''

``The number (of those missing) is still being determined,''
Emergencies Minister Sergei Shoigu told reporters. ``Some people may have gone on vacation. Some may have gone to their dachas (country homes).''

Firefighters tackled small fires as others worked with lifting equipment. At one point, rescuers shut down their machinery and stood silent for five minutes to listen for signs of survivors before starting the equipment up again.

A Russian Orthodox priest strode up and down the street with a megaphone calling on people to gather to pray.

``The explosion was so powerful it blew me off my feet,'' said one witness who lives in the same street and gave his name as Volodya. ``I knew at least eight people, relatives and friends, in that block.''

The ministry spokeswoman said the cause of the blast had not been determined, although the preliminary conclusion was that it was a gas explosion. Police were on the scene investigating.

Interior Minister Vladimir Rushailo and Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov both arrived at the site of the disaster to review the rescue operation.

``We cannot give full details, it's too early,'' Luzhkov told reporters. ``It is a fact there was a powerful blast. This blast has caused destruction and unfortunately claimed human victims.''

More than 200 firefighters and rescuers were at work using a range of heavy lifting equipment, he said. Sixty ambulances were on the scene.

The ministry spokeswoman said apartments above two of the six entrances to the block of flats had collapsed.

The blast occurred soon after midnight, when most people would have been asleep in their apartments.

Although there was no immediate suggestion of foul play, the blast followed a bomb explosion that injured dozens in a Moscow shopping mall last month and a devastating car-bomb attack last weekend that killed scores in an apartment block in the southern Dagestan region, where Russian forces are battling Islamic guerrillas.

-- I'm not here either (who@where.huh?), September 08, 1999.



Reichstag Fire.

-- Spidey (in@jam.oops), September 09, 1999.

Early Thursday? ... You mean on 9/9/99...???

-- Shimrod (shimrod@lycosmail.com), September 09, 1999.

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