MOSCOW, August 16. /TASS/. An Il-76 plane of the Russian emergencies ministry with 16 people injured in Monday’s gas station blast in Russia’s North Caucasus region of Dagestan, departed for Moscow late on Tuesday, the ministry told TASS.

"An Il-76 plane of the Russian emergencies ministry departed from Makhachkala to Moscow at 11:40 p.m. [Moscow time]," the ministry said.

The plane is expected to land at Moscow’s Zhukovsky airport. Patients will be taken to various federal hospitals and other clinics in Moscow.

An explosion rocked a filling station in a Makhachkala suburb on Monday evening, leaving 35 people dead and 80 injured. The Investigative Committee has initiated a probe. Russian President Vladimir Putin offered condolences to the families of those killed in the accident. A day of mourning has been declared in Dagestan.