An explosion tore through a service station in Russia’s Caucasus republic of Dagestan on Friday, killing at least nine people and injuring 10 others, the emergency situations ministry said.
Two children were among the dead, the ministry added on social media network Telegram.
A previous ministry statement put the toll at five dead and three injured without giving a cause for the blast.
“The station’s building is destroyed. The technical area and the cafeteria are burning over a surface of 500 square meters,” the ministry then said on Telegram.
The ministry update said the fire had been brought under control but not yet extinguished.
Almost 120 rescuers were working at the scene south of Dagestan’s capital Makhachkala, it added.
In August 2023, an explosion followed by a fire at a service station in a Makhachkala suburb killed 37 people and injured 119.
Such accidents are frequent in Russia where violations of safety standards and aging facilities often cause them.
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