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.