Gas station explosion kills dozens including three children and injures more than 100 in Russia
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At least 27 people were killed and more than 100 injured when a gas station in the Caucasian republic of Dagestan erupted in a huge explosion, Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry said on Tuesday.
The blast in the regional capital of Makhachkala was triggered late Monday night after a fire broke out at the gas station, according to Russia’s Investigative Committee for Dagestan.
Several other nearby buildings and cars were also badly damaged by the powerful explosion, which unleashed a brutal inferno.
The blaze raged overnight as rescuers desperately tried to evacuate the injured, as some 260 firefighters were dispatched to douse the flames early Tuesday morning.
“A total of 102 people were injured as a result of the incident, 27 of whom unfortunately died,” the ministry said on Telegram.
A powerful explosion in a service building of a gas station near an oil depot in the city of Makhachkala, Dagestan
“A total of 102 people were injured as a result of the incident, 27 of whom unfortunately died,” the Emergencies Ministry said on Telegram.
The regional government has declared August 15 a day of mourning to mark the tragedy, now that evacuations of the injured have been completed.
State news agencies TASS and RIA Novosti reported that the fire had been extinguished, citing the ministry.
“State flags will be flown at half-mast across the country, and cultural institutions and TV stations will be asked to cancel entertainment events and programs,” said Sergei Melikov, Dagestan’s chief administration officer.
A criminal case has been opened to establish the circumstances that led to the fire, the commission of inquiry said.
A powerful explosion in a service building of a gas station near an oil depot in the city of Makhachkala, Dagestan
Makhachkala, a city of over 600,000 people on the Caspian Sea, is the capital of Dagestan, a Russian republic bordering Chechnya, which shares a border with Georgia and Azerbaijan.
A witness quoted on Telegram by Russian daily Izvestia said the fire started in an area where cars were parked and spread to the gas station.
“After the explosion, everything fell on our heads, we couldn’t see anything,” said the witness, who has not been named.
Video released by the Russian Emergencies Ministry showed a group of firefighters trying to put out high flames near burnt-out vehicles, as rescue workers examined the rubble of a building with flashlights.
The fire spread over an area of about 600 square meters (6,450 square feet), the ministry said, adding that 260 firefighters had been deployed.
A government Il-76 plane carrying medical equipment was dispatched to Makhachkala to evacuate the seriously injured to Moscow, he added.
