Tajik President Emomali Rahmon yesterday sent a message of condolences to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin over a deadly incident in the Russian city of Magnitogorsk, which left dozens of people killed, according to the Tajik president’s official website.

Tajik leader, in particular noted in his message that he was deeply saddened by the tragedy in Magnitogorsk and asked to convey his sincere condolences to all those affected.  

Meanwhile, citing the Russian Emergencies Ministry, Russian media reports said yesterday that the death toll from the deadly collapse of a residential building in the city of Magnitogorsk has grown to 37 people.

An apartment block in Magnitogorsk, Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, partially collapsed on December 31, 2018, at approximately 6:02 a.m. local time.  The collapse reportedly killed at least 37 people and injured 17 others. The cause of the collapse is believed to have been a gas explosion.

The 10-story high-rise apartment block, on the city's Karl Marx Avenue, built in 1973, holds 623 units, being a type 1-439A building with 12 staircases.  The collapse took place on the 7th staircase, which destroyed or damaged 48 units, which together housed 110 people, of whom 95 were believed to have been in the building at the time of the collapse.