Massive explosion at gas station in Russia’s Dagestan kills 35

In this image provided by Russian Emergency Situations Ministry press service, firefighters work to extinguish a fire at a petrol station on a road near Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan, Russia. Photo / AP

A massive explosion at a gas station in Russia’s southern republic of Dagestan killed 35 people and injured scores more, Russian officials said.

Russia’s Health Ministry said 115 people were injured in the blast and subsequent fire, and 35 of them died, including three children.

A total of 65 of those injured, including 16 children, remained in hospital as of midday Tuesday (local time), the ministry said. Eleven people, including two children, were in grave condition.

The explosion occurred on Monday night on the outskirts of Makhachkala, the region’s capital. A fire started at a car repair shop and spread to a nearby gas station, triggering the blast.

Families of the dead will receive 1 million rubles (about $16,800) each and the injured between 200,000 and 400,000 rubles (about $3350-$6700), Dagestan’s authorities said. Russian state media said some of those injured would be airlifted to Moscow for treatment. Makhachkala is about 1600km south of Moscow.

The authorities have begun a criminal investigation and Tuesday has been declared a day of mourning in Dagestan.

Also on Monday night, a blast in western Siberia killed two people and wounded five others. The explosion occurred at an oil mine in the Khanty-Mansiysk region late in the evening, authorities said.

The explosion in Dagestan was the deadliest in Russia since April 2022, when a fire at a defence research facility in Tver, a city 160km north of Moscow, killed 22 people and injured a dozen more.

A blast at a factory north of Moscow that makes optical equipment for Russia’s security forces killed one person and injured 84 earlier this month.