RYAZAN, May 5 (RIA Novosti) - Criminal proceedings have been launched in connection with Friday's blast in an apartment bloc in the central Russian region of Ryazan, which killed five people, a local law-enforcement official said Saturday.
"The Prosecutor's Office has opened a criminal case under Article 167, Part 2, of Russia's Penal Code (deliberate destruction or damage of property)," the official said. "The article envisages punishment by imprisonment of up to 5 years."
A 4-year-old child and four adults died in the powerful gas explosion, which shook a two-story residential building in the town of Sarai Friday morning. The apparent household gas explosion destroyed six of the house's 18 apartments, which were home to a total of 41 tenants.
