Bodies of four Tajik nations – the mother and her three children – have been found in burial ruins of apartment bloc in Magnitogorsk.

As it had been reported earlier, a Tajik family of five was living in an apartment in the collapsed part of the building.  

The father, Shuhrat Ulfatov, 26, was found alive after seven hours in the rubble of apartment block on December 31, but the fate of his family was not immediately known.

Ulfatov was transported for treatment to Chelyabinsk. He remains in critical but stable condition in a Chelyabinsk hospital.

---

Meanwhile, Consul General of Tajikistan in Yekaterinburg, Safar Safarov, told Asia-Plus by phone yesterday afternoon that Ulfatov’s wife Rajabmo Isoyeva and their three children did not survive and that their bodies were found in burial ruins f the collapsed building Wednesday night.  

According to Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service, the victims were identified as 24-year-old Rajabmo Isoyeva, 6-year-old Ahmad, 4-year-old Fotima, and 3-year-old Saimuddin.

Recall, the blast, at 06:02 local time on December 31 is thought to have ripped through the first floor, which houses some offices, and the seven stories above then collapsed.  Nearby flats were also damaged.

The building was home to 120 people, and 48 flats collapsed in the blast.

Russian media reports say at least 37 people died when a section of a 10-story building collapsed after the explosion.