WORLD BRIEFING / RUSSIA
A gas explosion tore through a Siberian apartment block and sparked a fire that engulfed the building, killing eight people, including two children, Russian media reported.
Separately, a gas canister blast killed one person in a St. Petersburg grocery market, the Itar-Tass news agency reported, citing officials.
The two incidents underlined the poor fire safety record in Russia, where officials have said more than 15,000 people died last year in more than 200,000 reported blazes.
In the Siberian city of Irkutsk, the apartment building was destroyed by fire after the explosion of a gas canister, probably brought in for cooking, Interfax and Itar-Tass reported.
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