MOSCOW – Eyewitnesses captured the dramatic moment an explosion occurred at a gas station in Volgograd, Russia, just 600 miles southeast of Moscow, causing a terrifying mushroom cloud of fire and smoke.
According to the details, there were 13 injuries, which included four employees of Russia’s Ministry of Emergencies, the agency that contains the nation’s fire services.
The initial fire is believed to have been sparked by a discharge of static electricity as fuel was pumped from a tanker to an underground storage tank.
Staff had evacuated the station before the blast went off and caused a larger blaze, which spread over 1,000 square meters.
Maxim Chertovy, one of the firefighters in attendance, said: “Feeling the blast wave, I fell to the ground. Looking up, I saw the gas station blazing, and the flames rise several meters in height.”
Seventy firefighters tackled the fire. Crews deployed a firefighting robot, which they steered remotely to the center of the blaze to extinguish it.
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