New quake jolts Russianoil town of Neftegorsk
New quake jolts Russianoil town of Neftegorsk
MOSCOW (Reuter): A new earthquake jolted the Far Eastern oil
town of Neftegorsk early yesterday, a week after it was flattened
by a killer quake, Russia's Ministry of Emergencies said.
Spokesman Vasily Yurchuk, contacted by telephone in
Neftegorsk, told Reuters the latest quake struck at 3.30 a.m.
(2330 GMT) and measured 4.5 on the Richter scale.
It had its center in the north of the island of Sakhalin but
caused no casualties or damage.
Yurchuk said tremors measuring between two and three on the
Richter scale also jolted the settlement of Okha, 80 km (50
miles) north of the Neftegorsk disaster area, 7,000 km (4,500
miles) and eight time zones from Moscow.
Quoting the latest official data, he said the death toll in
the May 27 earthquake in Neftegorsk had risen to 908 by
yesterday, including 140 children. Another 406 people had been
injured.
The final death toll is expected to be more than 2,000.
Itar-Tass news agency said that tremors measuring up to five
had been registered in almost all settlements on the northern tip
of Sakhalin, causing no damage.
Yurchuk said rescue teams had discovered survivors under the
debris of an apartment block in Neftegorsk early yesterday with
the help of sniffer dogs.
"We still hope we can find more survivors," he said, adding
rescuers were working to pull people from the debris of two
houses in Neftegorsk. He gave no details.
Late on Friday, rescue workers pulled two survivors from the
twisted wreckage of concrete and steel in the remote settlement
-- a boy, Misha Deputatov, and 33-year-old Fyodor Yakimov.
Deputatov suffered two broken ribs and Yakimov had a broken
right leg but both were expected to survive, medical officials
said.
Apart from their injuries and the agony of days without water,
survivors have had to cope with night-time cold, when the
temperature can plunge below freezing.
Yurchuk said that heavy rains in Sakhalin on Friday night and
early yesterday hampered rescue efforts in the disaster zone.
"It rained all night and it was very cold. Work is continuing
despite the rain but it is becoming very difficult," he said.
Most of the rescue workers wear safety helmets and masks
against the sickening smell of the decomposing bodies.
Sakhalin's prosecutor has already initiated criminal
proceedings under an article dealing with infringement of
building regulations.
Emergencies Minister Sergei Shoigu has said that lack of water
would soon be a major factor.
The deputy head of a special medical disaster center in the
far eastern mainland city of Khabarovsk said nine of the 93
people recently transported there from Neftegorsk had died.
"Most of the patients' injuries are too severe," Tamara
Polyakova told Itar-Tass news agency.
Only one rescue team was working on Friday, sifting through
the remains of one of the 19 apartment blocks.