35 people killed and more than 100 injured in gas station explosion in Dagestan

A large explosion at a gas station in the Russian republic of Dagestan killed 35 people and injured over 100  people, Russian officials said Tuesday.

Russia’s Health Ministry said 115 people were injured in the explosion and the fire that followed. 35 of those involved died, including three children.

65 injured, of which 16 are children, were in hospital as of midday Tuesday local time, the ministry said.

Eleven people, including two children, had life threatening or serious injuries. 

The explosion happened on Monday night in suburbs near the regional capital of Makhachkala. A fire which had started in a car repair shop spread to a nearby gas station,which then lead to the explosion. 

The explosion in Dagestan was allegedly the deadliest in Russia since April 2022, when a fire at a defense research facility in the city of Tver killed 22 people and injured 12 more.

Authorities have initiated a criminal investigation. 

Photo credit:

Firefighters extinguishing a fire after the explosion which killed 35 people at a petrol station near Makhachkala, Dagestan, on Monday night, August 14, 2023. Photo provided by the Ministry of Emergency Situations