The death toll of an apartment building explosion in northern Russia rose to 43 early Wednesday with hopes of finding more survivors fading 24 hours after the blast.  

Seven of the dead were children, said Sergei Vlasov, spokesman for Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry. Twenty-four people were rescued, including two children.

Igor Avtushko, spokesman for the regional Interior Ministry, said 38 of the 43 people killed had been identified.

The police were searching for two homeless men believed to have triggered the deadly blast by stealing mental caps from gas pipes to sell for scrap, Avtushko said.

Russia's NTV television said building residents had reported the smell of gas to local emergency officials, but gas workers didn't come before the explosion.

The General Prosecutor's Office said it was not ruling out any possibility, but a gas explosion was the most likely cause of the blast. No explosives have been found so far.

The blast erupted at 3:00 am Moscow time (0000 GMT) Tuesday when about 70 residents in the nine-story building in Arkhangelsk, 960 kilometers north of Moscow, were sleeping.

Arkhangelsk prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation into the accident on charges of death and damage by negligence.

Neglect of safety precautions has led to frequent gas explosions in Russian apartment buildings and public facilities.

(Xinhua News Agency March 18, 2004)