MAKHACHKALA. Aug 15 (Interfax) - Head of Dagestan Sergei Melikov has ordered inspecting the observance of safety rules when locating automobile repair and maintenance shops near gas stations.
"An automobile repair and maintenance shop cannot be located close to a gas station. If only because repairs and maintenance envision welding, while a gas station stores flammable liquids and gas," Melikov said at a meeting of an ad hoc crisis center dealing with Monday's blast at a Makhachkala gas station. A video from the meeting is available on the Telegram account of Melikov's press service.
Based on the meeting's outcomes, the administration will decide on inspecting the observance of safety rules in providing such services, he said.
"Greed and avarice are put above all else when people try to break safety rules to gain a small profit," he said.
A blast rocked a gas station following a fire at an auto maintenance and repair shop located nearby in Makhachkala on Monday evening. The Emergency Situations Ministry's latest reports indicate that the accident killed 35 people, including three children, and injured 80 others. Dagestan declared a day of mourning on Tuesday.