A massive explosion at a petrol station in Russia has killled 30 people including three children.
The explosion took place late on Monday on the outskirts of Makhachkala, the capital of the southern republic of Dagestan.
A further 105 people were injured, and some of them were airlifted to Moscow for treatment.
Thirteen of the wounded were children, Interfax reported earlier, citing the Dagestani health ministry.
The fire started at a car repair shop and spread to a nearby petrol station, causing an explosion, the Emergency Ministry said.
The subsequent fire affected an area of 600 square metres - around the size of three full tennis courts.
Photos showed firefighters trying to battle the colossal blaze as flames rose high in the night sky.
“It’s like a war here,” a witness said.
It took firefighters more than three-and-a-half hours to put out the fire, Russian state-owned news agency TASS reported, citing a statement from the Russian emergency service.
Russian authorities have begun a criminal investigation.
Families of the victims will receive one million rubles (£7,870) each, Dagestan’s authorities said, and those injured will receive 200,000-400,000 rubles (£1,600-£3,150).
Tuesday was declared a day of mourning in Dagestan.
Across Russia, in western Siberia, another blast killed two people and wounded five more on Monday night.
The explosion occurred at an oil mine in the Khanty-Mansiysk region late in the evening, local authorities said.
