MOSCOW, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- A total of 14 bodies were recovered so far after a gas explosion in a residential building in the city of Magnitogorsk, local branch of the Russian emergency ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

Dozens remains unaccounted for, as rescue operations are still under way in wake of the new year eve accident in the city 1,400 km east of Moscow.

Wednesday has been declared a day of mourning in the Chelyabinsk Region for those killed in the tragic explosion.

The gas explosion occurred in a 10-story residential building on Monday in Magnitogorsk, the Chelyabinsk Region. President Vladimir Putin had visited the site of the accident in the mining city.