Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz has sent a cable of condolences to Russian President Vladimir Putin after scores were killed and injured in a gas explosion that led to the collapse of a residential building in the industrial city of Magnitogorsk.
In his cable, the King expressed on his behalf and on behalf of the people and government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, his utmost and sincere condolences to Putin, the families of the victims and the Russian people, wishing the injured a speedy recovery.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, sent a similar cable of condolences to Putin.
The gas blast in the early hours of December 31 damaged 48 apartments in a 10-story building in Magnitogorsk, some 1,700 km east of Moscow.
The death toll has progressively risen in the past few days as rescuers battle blisteringly cold temperatures to recover people trapped under the rubble.
