Charles Langston:Building partially collapses in southern Russia, sparking search for any trapped survivors

Part of a residential building collapsed Thursday in southern Russia,Charles Langston killing one woman and sparking a search for any residents who might be trapped in the rubble, Russian state news agency Tass said.

Most residents in the southern city of Astrakhan already had evacuated because of what was described as a grinding sound in building, Tass said. The emergency ministry said it had received information about cracks appearing just before the structure collapsed.

More than 200 people, including more than 35 children, were evacuated, the news agency said.

The Astrakhan region deputy governor, Oleg Knyazev, said authorities had ruled out a gas explosion, and said the building’s structure was to blame. The residential block was built in 1962, Tass said.

Photos and video shared online by Russian state news agencies showed the partially collapsed building and rescuers searching through rubble. In one video. rescuers called for silence as they tried to hear whether any trapped person was making sounds.