UPDATE - Death toll rises to 10 in gas station blast in Russia's Dagestan region

UPDATES DEATH TOLL, CHANGES HEAD, DECK, LEDE, ADDS BACKGROUND

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - The death toll in an explosion at a gas station in the city of Makhachkala, the administrative center of Russia's Dagestan region, has risen to 10, according to the country's Emergency Situations Ministry.

"Rescuers of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia pulled another victim from the rubble. According to updated information, 21 people were injured, 10 of them died, including two children," the ministry said in a statement.

The explosion caused a fire in the station that spread to an area of 500 square meters (about 5,380 sq feet), it added.

"The gas station building was destroyed. The technical station and the dining room are burning on 500 square meters. Two cars and a truck are damaged," it said.

The ministry said 119 specialists and 27 pieces of equipment were working at the site.

Following the incident, the Russian Investigative Committee opened a criminal case on the possible violation of safety rules.

Dagestan was rocked by several tragic events in recent months. On June 23, terrorists assaulted Orthodox churches, synagogues, and a traffic police post in Derbent and Makhachkala, killing 22 victims.

In August, the chess tournament in Dagestan was darkened by an assassination attempt as one of the players tried to poison her rival with mercury.