Hundreds of people were evacuated after explosions on a gas pipeline near Kizilyurt.
Hundreds of residents have been evacuated from three villages in Dagestan's Kizilyurt district following an explosion and fire on the Mozdok-Kazimagomed main gas pipeline. According to authorities, there are no casualties.
Reports of an emergency on a main gas pipeline in Dagestan spread this evening.
According to the republic's Ministry of Emergency Situations, three explosions occurred on the pipeline, followed by a massive fire. "At 7:45 p.m. Moscow time, reports began coming in of a gas pipe explosion in the city of Kizilyurt with a flash. According to preliminary information, three explosions occurred on a 1200 mm diameter main gas pipeline," the ministry reported.
The ministry reported that there is no threat to populated areas, but residents of houses located near the incident have been evacuated, TASS reports. Local residents are filming a huge flame rising above the gas pipeline after the explosion. According to Baza and SHOT, the fire is visible from several kilometers away.
The explosion site is located between the villages of Bavtugai and Gelbakh, according to the Kizilyurt mayor's office. "The gas supply was shut off from kilometers 661 to 718, and the remains are burning in the pipes," the Telegram channel Mash Gor reported.
Residents of at least 310 private homes in the villages of Nizhniy Chiryurt and Gelbakh have been evacuated, Interfax-Yug reported, citing a representative of the district administration.
In addition to residents of 250 houses in Nizhny Chiryurt and 60 houses in Gelbakh, about 150 people were evacuated from the village of Bavtugai, according to the Telegram channel "Only Facts. Dagestan."
Dagestan's Head of State, Fyodor Shchukin, reported on his Telegram channel that there were no casualties in the incident. "I am personally monitoring the situation in the Kizilyurt area," the official wrote. Acting Head of the Kizilyurt District, Magomed-Gadzhiyav Kadiev, and Acting Minister of Energy of Dagestan, Marat Shikhaliev, arrived at the scene. Officials have not yet released information about the cause of the explosions.