• At least 35 people were killed, and 80 injured in a gas station explosion in Dagestan.
• The fire started at a car repair shop and spread to the nearby gas station.
• Russian emergency ministry dispatched aircraft to transport casualties to Moscow.

A tragic incident occurred in the southern Russian republic of Dagestan, resulting in a devastating fire and explosion at a gas station that claimed the lives of at least 35 individuals and left numerous others injured.

The fire originated at a car repair shop on Monday night and subsequently spread to a nearby fuel station on the outskirts of Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan.

Among the deceased were several children, as reported by Sergey Melikov, the head of the Dagestan Republic.

The rubble yielded at least three bodies, and the injury count, initially stated as 102 by Melikov, was later revised to 80 by the Russian Ministry of Health.

To address the emergency, the Russian emergency ministry dispatched a special aircraft to transport casualties to hospitals in Moscow.

Additionally, experts from the Federal Center for Disaster Medicine and medical organizations from Moscow arrived in Dagestan to offer support.

Search and rescue operations persisted into Tuesday morning, with emergency personnel diligently working to clear debris and locate potential survivors.

In response to the tragedy, Russia’s Investigative Committee initiated a criminal inquiry into the incident.