THE death toll from an explosion that levelled an apartment building in southern Ukraine reached 27 yesterday as the country observed a day of national mourning, officials said.

Rescue workers were combing through piles of concrete and glass today in an ongoing search for survivors from an apartment building explosion in southern Ukraine, but authorities said hope was waning as the death toll climbed to 27.

An explosion tore through a block of flats in southern Ukraine, killing at least 17 people and leaving dozens more trapped under the rubble, emergency officials said today.