MOSCOW (AP) — Local officials said a body was recovered from rubble Saturday after an explosion at a gas station in the southern region of Dagestan, bringing the death toll to at least 11.
The explosion sparked a fire that ripped through the gas station and cafeteria on the outskirts of the regional capital Makhachkala on Friday, Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry said, adding that two children were among the dead. The fire was later extinguished.
Makhachkala is located about 1,600 kilometers south of Moscow.
Regional authorities said a criminal investigation had been opened into the cause of the explosion and Saturday was declared a day of mourning in Dagestan.
Last August a huge explosion 35 people were killed and another 115 injured at a gas station in Dagestan.