An apartment block collapses in Russian border city of Belgorod after heavy shelling

An apartment block partially collapsed in the Russian border city of Belgorod on Sunday, leaving at least 19 injured. Officials blamed Ukrainian shelling and said there were also likely deaths.

Online footage showed rescuers searching for survivors among the remnants of the building’s stairwell, then fleeing the scene as part of the roof crashed to the ground.

In a statement, Russia’s Investigative Committee, the country’s top law enforcement agency, said that the 10-story block had been hit by Ukrainian shelling. It said that there were dead and injured among the rubble, but provided no further details.

The Russian Defense Ministry wrote on social media that the building had been damaged by fragments of a downed Tochka-U TRC missile. It also said that air defenses had shot down several more rockets over the Belgorod region, as well as two drones that were destroyed in a separate incident later Sunday.