10-month-old baby rescued from debris at Russian explosion site

A 10-month-old baby was rescued from under the debris of a collapsed building following a gas explosion that killed seven people in the Russian city of Magnitogorsk, the Russian Emergencies Ministry said Tuesday.

The baby boy found alive under the debris of the 10-story building was rescued after a difficult operation involving dozens of specialists and was immediately sent to the nearest hospital, the ministry's regional office said in a statement.

Doctors assessed the baby's condition as "critical" due to frostbite and a head injury, the Russian Health Ministry said, adding that the baby could be transferred to Moscow to receive further aid if necessary.

On Monday, a household gas explosion rocked a residential building in Magnitogorsk in southwestern Russia, 1,400 km east of Moscow.

The Emergencies Ministry confirmed earlier on Tuesday that the death toll had increased to seven and 37 residents of the building are still missing.

TASS news agency quoted a source in the emergency headquarters as saying that rescue workers have found the eighth body at the site of the accident.

Search operations for the missing are under way. So far 12 people have been pulled out of the debris, seven of whom were confirmed dead and five hospitalized, according to the ministry.