Russia building collapse, death toll rises to 37

The death toll has progressively risen in the past few days as rescuers battle blisteringly cold temperatures to recover people trapped under the rubble.

As of Thursday morning, the bodies of 22 of the 37 dead had been identified, agencies cited the local branch of the emergencies ministries as saying.

Russia’s Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, has said it is still investigating the exact cause of the blast.

It said no traces of explosives had been found at the site. Initial reports attributed the blast to a gas explosion.

The death toll in a New Year's Eve apartment-building collapse rose to 37 as rescuers working in frigid temperatures pulled bodies from the rubble and speculation about the cause of the disaster swirled.

The blast in the early hours of December 31 damaged 48 apartments in a 10-storey building in the industrial city of Magnitogorsk, some 1,700 km (1,050 miles) east of Moscow.

"The bodies of two more women and a man were recovered," a spokesperson for the Emergency Situations Ministry said on January 3 after the death toll was raised from 33.

Six children were among those confirmed dead, the ministry said. Six people -- including an infant whose rescue has been called a miracle -- have been pulled alive from the rubble of the building in the southern Urals city and hospitalized.

Russian authorities have said since shortly after the December 31 collapse that a natural-gas explosion was the most likely cause. But in a statement issued on January 1, the federal Investigative Committee said the authorities were looking into "all possible causes" and added that no signs of a bomb blast have been found.

Gas explosions are relatively common in Russia because of aging infrastructure and poor safety regulations surrounding gas use.