Bahram Ghasemi offered his deepest sympathies to the Russian government and people and the families of the victims.
A 10-story building collapsed on Monday morning after an explosion that officials say was likely caused by a gas leak. The death toll has risen to 21 as rescue teams are still searching among a huge pile of rubble.
20 people are still missing, including five children. The prospects of finding any of them alive in the rubble appeared dim after two frigid nights in which temperature fell to about minus 20 degrees Celsius. A day of mourning was declared in the Chelyabinsk region that includes Magnitogorsk, and residents laid flowers and placed candles at the scene, ABC news reported.
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