MOSCOW: A fire at a fuel station in the southern Russian region of Dagestan late on Monday killed at least 30 people including three children, Russia’s emergency services ministry said on Tuesday.
The fire started at an auto repair shop on the roadside of a highway in Dagestani capital Makhachkala on Monday night and caused blasts as it spread to the nearby filling station, officials said.
“It’s like a war here,” a witness said.
Images shared by the emergency services ministry showed firefighters trying to put out a colossal blaze as flames rose high in the night sky.
Footage posted online showed a one-story building ablaze, Reuters TV reported.
“During the rescue operation in Makhachkala, the bodies of three more victims were found,” the ministry said on Telegram. “According to the updated information, as a result of the fire at the petrol station 105 were injured, and of them, 30 died.”
Thirteen of the wounded were children, Interfax reported earlier, citing the Dagestani health ministry.
It took firefighters more than 3-1/2 hours to put out the fire that spread into an area of 600 square meters (715 square yards), TASS reported, citing a statement from the Russian emergency service.
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Fire at Russian fuel station kills 30, scores injured
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Fire at Russian fuel station kills 30, scores injured
- Explosion took place at fuel station after fire had broken out
- Criminal case opened to establish circumstances leading up to the fire
Sri Lanka detains former spy chief over 2019 Easter bombings
- Criminal investigators arrested retired army major general Suresh Sallay on Wednesday
- Nine suicide bombers carried out the coordinated attacks on April 21, 2019
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s president has cleared investigators to detain the country’s former intelligence chief for up to three months of questioning over his alleged role in the 2019 Easter bombings that killed 279 people, police said Saturday.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake signed an order under the tough Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) to hold retired army major general Suresh Sallay for 90 days for questioning by detectives.
Criminal investigators arrested Sallay on Wednesday, making him the most high-profile official netted in the long-running investigation into the bombings, which wounded about 500 people.
Forty-five foreigners were among those killed.
Nine suicide bombers carried out the coordinated attacks on April 21, 2019, targeting two Roman Catholic churches, an evangelical Protestant church and three luxury hotels.
“The President signed the DO (detention order) last night to keep Sallay in custody for 90 days after the initial three-day period he was held,” a police spokesman said.
The PTA allows police to hold suspects for long periods without charge or judicial review. Suspects held under the PTA cannot be released on bail by the courts.
Opposition parties have condemned Sallay’s arrest, calling it a political witch-hunt.
But Sri Lanka’s Catholic Church, which has led a campaign demanding justice for the victims, welcomed the arrest and said police must be allowed to continue their investigation without political interference.
The church had earlier accused former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa of sabotaging police investigations into the bombings after coming to power on the back of them.
Two days after the attacks, Rajapaksa, a retired army officer, declared his candidacy and went on to win the November election in a landslide after promising to stamp out Islamist extremism.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake signed an order under the tough Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) to hold retired army major general Suresh Sallay for 90 days for questioning by detectives.
Criminal investigators arrested Sallay on Wednesday, making him the most high-profile official netted in the long-running investigation into the bombings, which wounded about 500 people.
Forty-five foreigners were among those killed.
Nine suicide bombers carried out the coordinated attacks on April 21, 2019, targeting two Roman Catholic churches, an evangelical Protestant church and three luxury hotels.
“The President signed the DO (detention order) last night to keep Sallay in custody for 90 days after the initial three-day period he was held,” a police spokesman said.
The PTA allows police to hold suspects for long periods without charge or judicial review. Suspects held under the PTA cannot be released on bail by the courts.
Opposition parties have condemned Sallay’s arrest, calling it a political witch-hunt.
But Sri Lanka’s Catholic Church, which has led a campaign demanding justice for the victims, welcomed the arrest and said police must be allowed to continue their investigation without political interference.
The church had earlier accused former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa of sabotaging police investigations into the bombings after coming to power on the back of them.
Two days after the attacks, Rajapaksa, a retired army officer, declared his candidacy and went on to win the November election in a landslide after promising to stamp out Islamist extremism.
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