A gas station fire in southern Russia’s Dagestan killed 25 people, including three children, according to Interfax news agency as cited by regional emergency medics on Tuesday.
A raging fire broke out on Monday night at an auto repair shop near a busy highway in Makhachkala, Dagestan’s capital. The flames quickly consumed the shop and spread to a nearby gas station, leading to intense explosions. Officials at the scene described the situation as a rapidly escalating disaster.
Online footage depicted a single-story building engulfed in flames, according to a report by Reuters TV.
“It is like a war here,” a witness said.
The count of individuals injured has now escalated to 66, with 10 in critical condition, as stated by the Russian deputy health minister, Vladimir Fisenko, as reported by the RIA news agency.
Thirteen of those wounded are children, the Dagestani health ministry cited in a report by Interfax.
Firefighters battled for over three and a half hours to extinguish the fire, which had spread across an area spanning 600 square meters (715 square yards), as outlined in a statement from the Russian emergency service, as reported by TASS.
