At least one person died and 15 people were injured when a storm swept through the city of Barnaul in western Siberia on Saturday evening.
Temperatures averaged 38 degrees Celsius when a tropical storm broke out around 9 p.m. local time, local media report.
City authorities declared a state of emergency after several villages on the outskirts of Barnaul saw electricity outages, with trees ripping through billboards and damaging cars.
At least 15 people received light injuries after the recreational “Barracuda” river barge they were on was thrust against a bridge pillar by heavy winds, the Interfax news agency reported.
Some 120 passengers on board the river cruise boat had to be evacuated, transport officials said.
The operator of a construction crane died after the crane fell over, the Investigative Committee said in a statement, adding that it had opened a criminal investigation into possible safety violations at the site.
There was also some good news: An eight-year-old girl presumed to have gone missing during the storm re-appeared on Sunday, the regional branch of the Investigative Committee announced. The girl was unharmed and had reportedly been with friends, the report said.
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