4th January, 2019
Six of the 39 victims who died after a gas explosion in the Industrial Russian City of Magnitogorsk caused an apartment block to collapse were laid to rest on Friday, Russian media reported.
More funerals are scheduled for the coming days, and a memorial to commemorate the victims is being planned in the Southern Ural city.
Russian officials are working primarily on the assumption that a gas leak or faulty pipe caused the explosion.
There has thus far been no indication that an explosive was involved, they say.
Investigations into the cause of the explosion had continued through on Friday.
A large gas blast caused the 10-storey Soviet-era block of flats to collapse early on Monday.
There are no plans to rebuild the block.
Situated at the Southern tip of Russia’s Ural Mountains, Magnitogorsk is known for steel production.
It has a population of 400,000.