Fire at oil depot in southwestern Russia doubles in size

A fire at an oil depot in the Krasnodar Krai (territory) of Russia has doubled in size to 3.75 thousand square metres, according to the region's operational headquarters.

The blaze has engulfed a storage tank from which a petroleum leak had been detected earlier, Caliber.Az reports via Russian media.

Emergency teams are currently tackling the fire at three locations: one of the tanks, shut-off valves, and burning petroleum within the containment area around the tank.

To combat the fire, additional resources have been deployed. At present, 276 personnel and 105 units of equipment are involved, including two fire trains.

To recall, the incident follows an attack by Ukrainian drones overnight, which caused a fire at the same depot in the village of Kavkazskaya. The initial fire affected an area of just 20 square metres, with 179 responders and 54 pieces of equipment. As the blaze spread, the affected area grew to 1,700 square metres.

During the night, a leak from one of the storage tanks triggered a subsequent fire involving petroleum products.

The fire is contained within the tank's surrounding bund. The blaze has been classified as a level 4 emergency, but no casualties have been reported.

By Aghakazim Guliyev