37 deaths in Russian apartment collapse

Thirty-seven bodies have been recovered from the rubble of a Russian apartment building that partially collapsed this week after an apparent gas explosion, Russian news agencies have reported.

The blast in the early hours of December 31 damaged 48 apartments in a 10-storey building in the industrial city of Magnitogorsk, 1,700 km east of Moscow.

The death toll has progressively risen in the past few days as rescuers battle blisteringly cold temperatures to recover people trapped under the rubble.

As of Thursday morning, the bodies of 22 of the 37 dead had been identified, officials say.

Gas explosions are relatively common in Russia because of ageing infrastructure and poor safety regulations surrounding gas use.