Oil depot fire in Russia’s south extinguished

A massive blaze at an oil plant in Russia’s southern republic of Dagestan has been brought under control.

At its fiercest, more than 80 firefighters were battling to contain the inferno which had been raging for two days. At times flames reached up to five stories high.

No one was injured in the incident, and the authorities said there was no danger to the local population.

The nearest populated area is more than 10 kilometers away from the fire site. The oil storage depot is located some 170 kilometers north of the capital, Makhachkala.

The fire broke out in one of the oil tanks, which has a capacity of 5,000 cubic meters. There was reportedly about 3,000 cubic meters of raw oil inside.

According to reports, the blaze may have started because of welding works at the plant.