Russia has launched an investigation into the death of a 27-year-old man in an inflatable “zorb” ball that tumbled down a mountainside in a horrific accident that was caught on video, a spokesman said.

Flooding caused by heavy rain in southern Russia has claimed at least 26 lives.

Police have released sketches of six suspects after bombings in southern Russia claimed at least 21 lives.

Three simultaneous car bomb blasts killed at least 21 people and wounded more than 100 others today in southern Russia near the breakaway republic of Chechnya.

At least 14 people were killed and more than 70 were wounded in three bomb blasts this morning in southern Russia, police officials said.