INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
the incident, the ministry said on the Telegram messaging app.Makhachkala, a city of over 600,000 residents on the Caspian Sea, is the
capital of Dagestan, a Russian republic bordering Chechnya.The explosion took place in the building of a car service station, where a fire
had broken out during maintenance work, Russia's Investigative Committee said.A criminal case has been opened to establish the circumstances
leading up to the incident, it added.The state-run TASS and RIA Novosti news agencies reported that the fire had been extinguished, citing
Russia's Emergency Ministry.The blast was heard shortly before 10:00 pm on Monday, Sergei Melikov, head of the Dagestan regional
administration, said on Telegram.An eyewitness quoted by the Russian daily Izvestia said the fire started in an area where cars were parked
and spread to the petrol station."After the explosion, everything fell on our heads, we couldn't see anything anymore," said the eyewitness,
who was unnamed.A video released by Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry showed a group of firefighters trying to extinguish flames near
burnt-out vehicles, as rescue workers examined the rubble of a building with flashlights.The fire had spread over an area of around 600
square meters, the ministry said, adding that 260 firefighters were deployed.A government Il-76 aircraft carrying medical equipment was
dispatched to Makhachkala to evacuate the seriously injured to Moscow, it added.
