Azernews.Az

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin paid a surprise visit to the southern Russian city of Astrakhan, where a house partially collapsed after a household gas blast, RIA Novosti reported.

According to the most recent data, seven people were killed when a gas blast destroyed the third floor of a nine-storey residential building on Monday and three other sections subsequently collapsed. Rescuers continue to clear the rubble.

The prime minister is expected to visit the site of the tragedy and meet with residents. He will also hold a meeting on post-disaster recovery and aid and inspect new apartments for the surviving residents.

The authorities pledged to pay one million rubles (about $33,000) to the relatives of those killed in the blast. People whose apartments were damaged will also be paid one million rubles.

Safety violations during repair works, or a suicide attempt by one of the occupants, are thought to have caused the explosion, Russian Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said.

Investigators have opened a case against the building's engineers on fire safety violation charges, the Investigative Committee said.