In the southern Russian republic of Dagestan, an explosion at a petrol station resulted in at least 30 fatalities and more than 100 injuries, according to local authorities.
According to the emergency situations ministry of Russia, the fire broke out at a car repair shop on Monday night and subsequently spread to a nearby petrol station outside Makhachkal, the capital of Dagestan.
As of Tuesday morning, emergency personnel were still removing the debris and looking for potential survivors, according to state-run news agency TASS.
According to Sergey Melikov, the president of the Dagestan republic, several children were among the deceased, and TASS reported that at least three bodies had been found among the debris.
According to RIA Novosti, Russia’s Investigative Committee has opened a criminal probe into the fatal fire.
Putin “expressed condolences to the families and friends of those killed in the explosion at a petrol station in Makhachkala and wished a speedy recovery to the victims,” according to a Kremlin statement.
Abdulmuslim Abdulmuslimov, the president of Dagestan, paid a visit to the tragedy site in Makhachkala on Tuesday.
According to TASS, the Dagestani government designated Tuesday a day of mourning.