MOSCOW, August 18. /TASS/. A negligent and unscrupulous attitude, demonstrated by businessmen and officials, is to blame for the recent gas station blast in Dagestan’s administrative center of Makhachkala that left 35 people dead and scores injured, the head of Russia’s North Caucasus region Sergey Melikov has told reporters.

"This tragedy has once again highlighted [the problem of] providing shoddy services to the population. These services fall under Article 238 [of the Russian Criminal Code, concerning production and sale of products, fulfillment of works and rendering of services that do not meet safety standards]. But there was negligence on the part of entrepreneurs and officials from governmental agencies, whose duty is to issue permits for construction and use <…> of high-risk facilities only when certain requirements are met," Melikov said.

In his words, over the past two years the region's authorities have been working hard to withdraw unlawfully issued construction permits. The official added that although their efforts in this regard are not always noticed by the public, this work is being conducted in "a very meticulous manner."

"This is a tough process, because some cases require judicial acts, others need pretrial proceedings. In some instances, permissions <…> issued many years ago have to be withdrawn," the regional chief said.

An explosion rocked a filling station in a Makhachkala suburb on August 14, leaving 35 people dead and 119 injured. According to the authorities, a total of 440 buildings were damaged by the blast. The Russian Investigative Committee has initiated a probe. Russian President Vladimir Putin offered condolences to the families of those killed in the accident.