Suspected Chechnya gas blast kills six

An explosion ripped through a base of a special Defence Ministry security force in Russia’s troubled province of Chechnya today, killing at least six people and injuring another 13.

An official at the regional Emergency Situations in Rostov-on-Don said the cause of the blast in Kurchaloi, some 16 miles southeast of the Chechen capital Grozny was not yet known.

Interfax news agency quoted a Chechen Interior Ministry official as saying that it appeared to be a gas explosion.

The blast, which happened at around 8.30pm local time caused a building to collapse, burying several dozen servicemen under the rubble, according to provisional reports.

A fire broke out but was put out.

The base houses Chechen troops serving in a special Defence Ministry security force, called Vostok.

Chechnya, a restive mainly Muslim southern Russian republic, has suffered almost continuous conflict between separatist rebels and Russian forces since 1994. Large-scale fighting has died down but skirmishing and almost daily guerrilla land mine attacks continue.