A fire at a gas station in the southern Russian region of Dagestan killed 12 people including two children, Russian officials said early on Tuesday.
The fire started at an auto repair shop on the roadside of a highway in Dagestani capital Makhachkala on Monday night and caused blasts spreading to a nearby gas station, officials said.
Footage posted online showed a one-storey building ablaze, Reuters TV reported.
“It’s like a war here,” a witness said.
The number of injuries rose to over 60 people, Dagestani Governor Sergei Melikov said in a video statement early on Tuesday. Thirteen of the wounded are children, Interfax said citing the Dagestani health ministry.
It took fire fighters more than three and a half hours to put out the fire that spread into an area of 600 square meters (715 square yards), TASS reported, citing a statement from the Russian emergency service.