Strong blast in Moscow kills three

Moscow : An explosion ripped through a Moscow apartment tower on Friday, blowing out exterior walls, sparking a fire and killing at least three people, officials said.

Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov said the blast was apparently caused by an accident with gas-powered welding equipment in an apartment, Russian news agencies reported.

Two men and a woman were killed, but the death toll could rise when workers remove collapsed ceiling slabs on the tenth floor, Luzhkov said, according to state-run agency RIA-Novosti.

After the explosion, smoke poured from the gaping hole torn in the side of the 22-storey building, and flames leapt from at least two of the apartments.

Explosions and fires caused by accidents with gas stoves, heaters and gas canisters are common in Russia.