Gas blast kills nine in Ukraine

A natural gas explosion ripped through an apartment building in eastern Ukraine today, killing at least nine people and damaging other nearby buildings, an emergency official said.

The blast destroyed much of the 10-storey building in the industrial city of Dnipropetrovsk, about 370 miles from the capital, Kiev.

Rescue workers have recovered nine bodies so far, said Alexander Dmiterko, who is with the regional Emergency Situations Ministry.

Russian and Ukrainian news reports said the blast was so powerful that its shock wave damaged several other multi-storey apartment buildings and smaller houses.