Twenty-three Russian soldiers were crushed to death by
rubble after their military barracks collapsed in Siberia, the Russian defence
ministry said on Monday.
All four floors collapsed in one section of the building
in the Siberian city of Omsk on Sunday evening as 42 Russian paratroopers were
resting.
"All 42 soldiers who were under the rubble have been
found. Twenty-three of them are dead," said defence ministry spokesman
Igor Konashenkov.
President Vladimir Putin has been informed of the
accident in Omsk, located about 2,200 kilometres (1,400 miles) east of Moscow,
a Kremlin spokesman said.
In footage shown on Russian television, soldiers formed a
human chain to pass bricks and other debris from one to another in order to
clear the mountain of rubble.
"Half of the heap has been cleared now," acting
commander of Russian paratroopers Nikolai Ignatov said in televised remarks.
Teams of rescue workers, search dogs, and a plane with
medical equipment from Moscow have been dispatched to the scene, along with
military prosecutors.
Some of the injured victims have been airlifted for
treatment in Moscow.
A representative of the regional military investigators
told the Interfax news agency that a probe had been launched into possible
negligence.
According to a list published by Life News website, most
of the victims were male and aged between 18 and 24.
About 50 relatives of the injured or dead soldiers have
already arrived in Omsk, the regional governor said.
According to the defence ministry, the 242nd training
centre whose barracks collapsed trains junior officers and armoured infantry
vehicle drivers, among others.
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