The explosion in the Russian republic of Dagestan is the third in just two years, with others in 2024 and 2023 having claimed several dozen lives and left hundreds injured
Dramatic footage has captured the moment a petrol station exploded into a massive fireball, killing four people and sending others running for their lives.
The gas cylinder explosion in Dagestan, Russia, produced thick black clouds of smoke which could be seen billowing into the air above the station in a devastating eruption. The initial explosion caused a chain reaction which caught every gas cylinder and pump, with the footage posted online showing the village of Sulevkent in the Khasavyurt district bathed in orange light.
Video taken at the scene by a bystander captured the force of the blast and moment several people started running from the explosion before emergency services rushed to the scene.
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People left their homes in the immediate aftermath of the blast, which could be seen from several kilometres away, with ambulances arriving to find four people in the vicinity who were left injured. They were rushed to hospital with severe burns before it was confirmed they had died from their injuries.
Authorities in Dagestan, a Russian republic that borders Georgia and Azerbaijan, have determined the blast was caused by a depressurising gas cylinder.
Preliminary reports state the entire station was levelled in the explosion, as was the adjacent service station and nearby food vendors. Dagestan prosecutors have now launched an investigation into the incident, which is the third in just two years, with dozens of people having died in petrol station explosions since 2023.
In 2024, 13 people died and a further 23 were injured after an explosion in a community just outside Makachkala, the capital of Dagestan, with two children among the casualties.
The massive explosion – which was also captured on video at the time – launched a fuel tank more than 1,000ft away into a nearby high-rise block. Shockwaves had also left locals convinced they were caught in an earthquake, with local officials launching a criminal investigation after the incident.
Authorities also proclaimed a day of mourning. A year previous, a massive blast ripped apart a petrol station in Makhachkala itself, killing 35 people and leaving an additional 115 with injuries.
The explosion, which rocked the city just before 10pm on August 13, was caused after a fire started at a nearby auto repair shop, which spread to the gas station. Two external gas tanks were ignited, allowing flames to spread over a massive area of 600 square metres.
Authorities confirmed that, alongside the several dozen injuries, 40 homes and a local hotel were left damaged in the aftermath. Following an investigation, the head of the Association of Gas Stations of Dagestan confirmed between 90 and 100 tonnes of ammonia nitrate was being stored in the gas station, causing the especially dramatic explosion.