Two children killed in 1,000ft-high fireball from petrol station explosion
This is the harrowing moment a petrol station exploded, throwing a parked fuel tanker into a residential building in Russia’s Chechnya.
Two children are among four people killed in Saturday’s incident in the Chechen capital of Grozny, the emergencies ministry said.
Authorities said a fuel tank had exploded at the station, resulting in a fire, in which five others were wounded.
Local media reported that the four people who died are residents of the block of flats in which the tanker careered into.
The blast happened on Mohammad Ali Avenue, close to the centre of Grozny and near a college.
Footage shows a fireball erupting in the sky in the moments after the explosion.
The flames can be seen reaching as high as 1,000 ft, higher than the surrounding buildings.
In the video, people who had gathered near the station are seen running from the scene of destruction.
The blast reduced the petrol station to mangled metal while the fire continued to burn for hours after.
Ramzan Kadyrov’s, the leader of Chechnya, said in a statement on Telegram that he had taken the situation under his personal control.
He said that those responsible for the blast would be brought to justice, but did not give further details.
Regional authorities said a criminal investigation was opened.
Last month an explosion at a gas station in the neighboring region of Dagestan killed at least 13 people and injured 23 others.
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