"As of 6:00 a.m. local time (3:00 a.m. GMT) on August 15, the tragedy killed 27 people and left 102 injured," Melikov’s press service quoted him as saying.
According to the regional head, there are three children among those killed.
The Russian Emergencies Ministry said earlier that the gas station blast in Makhachkala had killed 27 and left 75 injured. Efforts continue to clear the rubble and search for potential survivors. Search-and-rescue dog teams are working at the site. In addition, the Emergencies Ministry’s Il-76 aircraft has departed from Moscow’s Zhukovsky Airport to airlift the injured to the hospital.
On Monday evening there was an explosion opposite the filling station in Makhachkala. Firefighters extinguished the fire in an area of 600 square meters. Russian investigators initiated a criminal case under Article 238 of the Russian Criminal Code (provision of services that do not meet the requirements of safety of life or health of consumers, causing the death of two or more people by negligence).
MNA/PR