The number of people killed by a household gas explosion in Russia's Nizhny Novgorod Region has reached six, emergencies services said Saturday.
Earlier it was reported that five people including a child died in the fire and at least one other resident was severely injured in the blaze, which broke out in the early afternoon in an apartment on the top floor of a five-story block in the town of Dzerzhinsk.
"An injured man died today in a hospital," emergencies spokeswoman Svetlana Petrova said.
Another injured man, aged 19, is in a hospital.
Russia has an appalling fire safety record. According to the country's emergency services, 15,165 people died in fires across the country in 2008, including 584 children. On average, 42 people die daily in Russia in fires. In the U.S., with a population over twice as large, the figure is around 3,400 deaths a year.
On December 5, a fire broke out in a nightclub in the west Urals city of Perm during an indoor fireworks display. The death toll has been steadily rising throughout the week, reaching 145 as of today. The accident prompted massive dismissals of officials and fire safety checks of venues.
NIZHNY NOVGOROD, December 12 (RIA Novosti)
