A gas explosion and fire at a Moscow restaurant on Monday killed two people and injured at least 26, AP cited officials as saying. The explosion occurred at about 3:30 p.m. in the kitchen of an Italian restaurant called Il Pittore. The fire, believed to have been set off by the explosion, spread quickly through the brick building, which had two floors and an attic. Emergencies services official Ilya Denisov said at the scene that two restaurant employees died and 15 people were evacuated by ambulance. The federal Investigative Committee said in a statement that in addition to the two killed, 26 people were hurt. -- SPA
