UN — The emergency situations ministry reported on Tuesday that at least 27 people had been killed and over 100 injured in an explosion and fire at a gas station in the Russian Caucasus province of Dagestan. The ministry reported on Telegram that “a total of 102 people were injured as a result of the incident, of whom unfortunately 27 died.”
The Investigative Committee for Dagestan of the Russian Federation stated on Telegram that the explosion in Makhachkala occurred at a fuel station after a fire broke out. According to the report, “a fire occurred during car maintenance work, followed by a bang, as a result of which people were injured and died,” with collateral damage to neighboring houses and vehicles. According to the report, criminal proceedings have been initiated to determine the causes of the incident. According to state-run TASS and Ria Novosti news agencies, the fire was put out, quoting the ministry.
The capital of Dagestan, a Russian republic that shares borders with Georgia and Azerbaijan, is Makhachkala, a metropolis of more than 600,000 people on the Caspian Sea. Sergei Melikov, the president of the Dagestan government, claimed on Telegram that the incident occurred just before 10:00 pm (1900 GMT) on Monday. According to a witness the Russian newspaper Izvestia cited on Telegram, the blaze began in a parking lot and quickly spread to the gas station.
The unidentified witness stated, “After the explosion, everything fell on our heads, and we could no longer see anything.” A video provided by Russia’s emergency situations ministry showed rescue personnel searching through the debris of a structure with flashlights while firemen battled strong flames near burned-out automobiles.
The ministry reported that 260 firemen were called to the scene and that the fire had spread across an area of around 600 square meters (6,450 square feet). It further said that a government Il-76 aircraft outfitted with medical supplies had been sent to Makhachkala in order to bring the critically injured to Moscow. Melikov declared that “people have been evacuated to the medical facilities.” The 15th of August was designated as a day of mourning by the Dagestani government. Melikov has announced that all flags in the country will be lowered to half-staff and that all cultural institutions and television networks are to cancel all entertainment events and programs.
