On August 14, a fire and explosion occurred near a gas station in the suburbs of Makhachkala, killing 35 people and injuring 84. 16 people in serious condition were evacuated to Moscow clinics. About 400 buildings were damaged.
As established by the investigation, the fire occurred at a technical service station, then the fire engulfed a nearby gas station. The area of ​​the fire was 600 square meters, including a warehouse where flammable agricultural fertilizers based on saltpeter were stored, after which an explosion occurred. The Investigative Department of Dagestan opened a criminal case under Part 3 of Article 238 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“provision of services that do not meet the requirements for the safety of life or health of consumers, resulting in the death of two or more persons through negligence”). The investigation was transferred to the central office of the Investigative Committee.
On August 15, mourning was declared in Dagestan. About a thousand Dagestanis and vacationers came to the republican blood transfusion station to donate blood for the victims. Charitable foundations collected over 55 million rubles for them - over 72 thousand people contributed funds to the organizations' accounts. Donations came from different regions of Russia.
According to the head of Dagestan, Sergei Melikov, condolences and offers of help came from Vladimir Putin, other federal officials, and heads of regions of the North Caucasus Federal District. He especially noted the support of the Chechen Republic: "They were the first to support us, sent medical teams here, although no one asked for this, did not even mention such a possibility: this is their initiative. The doctors came here, saw that we were coping on our own, left all their medications, consumables that were necessary. And absolutely without any media attention, without show, they supported and helped." On August 17, the Basmanny Court of Moscow arrested 34-year-old Dagestani resident Eldar Nasrulaev, the owner of a warehouse with ammonium nitrate. The court hearing to choose a preventive measure was held behind closed doors – the prosecutor requested this to ensure the safety of the accused and his relatives. The accused himself said practically nothing in court, Kommersant reported, he did not even clearly answer the question of whether he admitted guilt. According to the lawyer, Nasrulaev is still in a state close to shock. Regarding the ammonium nitrate, he said: “I stored it as best I could,” but did not answer who it belonged to. After the tragedy, inspections of the storage conditions of explosive substances began in the republic. The owners of several warehouses with ammonium nitrate were fined and received orders to eliminate the violations. The regional government has also taken up the issue of compliance with the minimum distances permitted by the rules to hazardous production facilities in populated areas and intends to regulate the boundaries of protected zones of power facilities, pipelines, communication lines, and roadside strips of highways.