Baby swept to death as pavement opens

An 18-month-old child was swept into a sewage system when a pavement collapsed because of a ruptured pipe.

The mother, a 26-year-old policeman's wife, was pushing the child in the city of Bryansk, 235 miles south-west of Moscow, when the ground caved in. The woman was rescued but the child was swept into a collecting tank and was presumed dead.

Investigators suspect faulty construction.