Death toll at 8 in Ingushetia blast

NAZRAN, Russia, Jan. 14 (UPI) -- The death toll from a building explosion in the Russian North Caucasus Republic of Ingushetia has reached eight, officials said Wednesday.

The explosion, which tore through a three-story court bailiffs' office building in the center of Nazran, Ingushetia, Tuesday, is thought to have been caused by a natural gas leak, RIA Novosti reported.

"An eighth body has been retrieved from the rubble," a spokeswoman for the local emergencies service told the Russian news service.

Twenty-two people were rescued from the building, with 17 still hospitalized with two in critical condition. Ingushetia President Yunus-Bek Yevkurov declared three days of mourning for the victims, RIA Novosti said.