Burials of Magnitogorsk house collapse victims to begin on Friday

The first funeral of the victims of the deadly house collapse in the city of Magnitogorsk in Russia’s Urals will take place on Friday. “Six people will be buried tomorrow [January 4], nine – on January 5 and one – on January 7,” the local authorities announced on Telegram. The death toll in the tragedy, which struck early December 31, reached 39, including six children, after two bodies were retrieved from the debris on Thursday. The rescue operation has concluded, with no more people remaining in the rubble, the Emergencies Ministry said. The investigators view an explosion of leaked gas as the likeliest cause of the house collapse.