Residents of the building affected by the gas explosion will be able to collect essential items today 0 17

Residents will be assisted by employees of the State Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) in retrieving their belongings on Saturday afternoon.

The Department of Urban Development of the Riga Municipality has instructed the building owners to engage a certified construction expert to conduct a technical inspection to determine the extent of the damage, as well as the conditions and necessary actions for partial access or restoration of the building's operation.

Currently, entry into the building is prohibited.

Today, SFRS employees completed the evacuation of pets from the affected building. Several cats were taken to a shelter.

As previously reported, as a result of the gas explosion in Torņakalns on Bauskas Street, two people died, and two others were injured, according to SFRS.

One of the deceased is an employee of the emergency service of JSC Gaso, who arrived in response to a call about a possible gas leak.

According to the State Police, during the rescue operations, another body was found in an apartment on the fifth floor. According to the information available at this time, this person may have committed a crime.

Simultaneously, other investigative actions are being conducted to clarify the exact circumstances of the incident. Expert examinations have been appointed.

Before the arrival of SFRS, 35 people evacuated the building on their own, while firefighters evacuated another 11.

The explosion in the five-story residential building occurred due to a damaged gas pipeline. As a result of the explosion, the fourth and fifth floors of the building, as well as the roof, collapsed.

The building is managed by LLC Latvijas namsaimnieks, which contains 74 apartments, four of which belong to the municipality. According to unofficial information, the explosion occurred due to an illegal gas connection in a municipality-owned apartment.