Resident charged with murder in Russian building collapse

MOSCOW – A resident of a nine-story Russian apartment building that partially collapsed in a gas explosion, killing seven people, has been charged with murder.

The suspect in Thursday’s collapse in the city of Izhevsk appeared in court on Saturday and did not deny criminal responsibility, state news agency Tass reported.

The collapse originally was believed to be due to an accident. But investigators later arrested a man who had lived in an apartment with his mother in the ruined section of the building. Russia’s Investigative Committee said in a statement that a dispute with neighbours is believed to be the motive in the collapse, but did not give details on how it was allegedly carried out.