AKIPRESS.COM - At least 23 soldiers were killed when a military barracks collapsed in Russia's Omsk region, The Straits Times reports.

A Defence Ministry statement said the concrete building which housed military personnel in the village of Svetly in southern central Russia had collapsed on Sunday, trapping people inside.

A ministry official, Igor Konashenkov said the death toll had reached 23 by Monday morning and 19 people had been taken to hospital.

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.

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 said that a probe has been launched into possible negligence.

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

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