20 killed in Russian military barrack collapse in Siberia

Twenty Russian soldiers have been killed after their military barracks collapsed in Siberia, a Russian defence ministry spokesman said on Monday, adding that three troops remained missing.

"Thirty-nine servicemen have been pulled out of the debris, the toll has gone up to 20," Igor Konashenkov told news agencies.

Earlier Monday five soldiers were missing under the rubble and 19 were hospitalised.

The accident happened on Sunday evening in the village called Svetly near the city of Omsk, at a training facility for Russian paratroopers.

In footage shown on Russian television, soldiers formed a human chain to pass bricks and other debris from one to another in order to clear the mountain of rubble.

"Half of the heap has been cleared now," said acting commander of Russian paratroopers Nikolai Ignatov in remarks to Rossiya 24.

Teams of rescue workers, search dogs, and a plane with medical equipment from Moscow have been dispatched to the scene, along with military prosecutors.

A representative of the regional military investigation offices told the Interfax news agency that a probe has been launched into possible negligence.

A Kremlin spokesman said that President Vladimir Putin had been informed of the accident.

Omsk is about 2,200 kilometres (1,400 miles) east of Moscow.

A list of names of 15 victims published by Life News website showed male names with ages ranging from 18 to 24 years.

According to the defence military the 242nd training centre where the accident occurred prepares junior specialists in the army, including drivers and mechanics for armoured infantry vehicles.