Death Toll In Ukraine Building Collapse Rises To Eight

Members of Ukraine's emergency services work at the site of a gas explosion in the town of Drohobych in the Lviv region on August 28.

The number of people killed in the collapse of an apartment building in western Ukraine rose sharply to eight, including one child, the Ukrainian state emergencies service said on August 29.

Most of the apartment building collapsed in the small town of Drohobych in the Lviv region the previous night. Authorities had originally said one person was killed.

Lviv regional government officials said the incident most likely was caused by a natural-gas explosion in the early hours of August 28.

It destroyed several apartments from the ground floor to the top of the four-story block.

The service said it had completed the rescue operation.

A probe has been launched into the deadly explosion, officials said.

Based on reporting by UNIAN and Ukrayinska Pravda