Icicles falling from rooftops kill pedestrians in Russian City of St Petersburg

Icicles falling from the rooftops in St Petersburg have killed and injured a record number of people after one of the bitterest Russian winters in years.

Five people have been killed and around 150 injured by falling chunks of ice that have sparked calls for better safety rules for the clearing of rooftops.

The victims include a six-month baby who was badly hurt when a chunk of ice dropped on her pram and a boy of eight who suffered serious spinal damage after an icicle struck his back.



Milana Kashtanova, 21, has been in a coma since February after she was hit by ice being cleared from a rooftop following Russia's coldest winter in 30 years. "Milana was just walking past a building in the city centre. There was no warning tape, nothing to alert people that people were working on the roof," her boyfriend, Irinei Kalachev, said.

The deaths and injuries have prompted residents and relatives of victims to demand action against those responsible.

The city's governor Valentina Matviyenko has fired eleven officials accused of doing too little to keep the city's streets and rooftops free of snow and ice.