17 dead from Russian gas blasts

Another gas explosion has occured in Russia's Volgograd region, killing two people. Meanwhile, a string of gas blasts, which have become common in Russia, have claimed 15 lives in the past week alone.

On Tuesday two people are reported to have been killed in the town of Elan.

Officials say unauthorised repair work caused the blast.

Blasts last week in Russia

The first blast took place on January 9 in the Republic of Tatarstan and claimed lives of eight people.

On Monday, in the southern Russian resort town of Zheleznovodsk in Stavropol region six people were killed. A four-month-old baby and a six-year-old child were among the dead.

Later in the day a gas pipe exploded in a similar residential building in the town of Novokuibyshevsk in the Samara region.

The accident left one person dead and nine injured.

The latest gas explosions in apartment buildings and public facilities have prompted a review of equipment throughout Russia. Russia's Prosecutor Office has requested an examination of gas equipment in all regions.