A natural gas explosion and the fire it caused in an apartment building in eastern Moscow claimed three lives, the Emergency Situations Ministry told Itar-Tass. The fire has been put out. The explosion on the sixth storey destroyed a balcony and a wall panel. It also smashed windows in some neighboring apartments and damaged cars parked around. People in the neighboring buildings heard a strong bang. “Natural gas cylinders exploded on the sixth storey of a 16-storey building. Two apartments caught fire,” police said. Fire-fighters rescued 22 people and evacuated 200 others. The fire affected an area of 200 square meters.