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Majority of passengers on board Tel Aviv-Makhachkala flight were women, children

Makhachkala Airport director general noted that casualties were avoided during the riots thanks to negotiations conducted on the spot by Russian State Duma deputy Khizri Abakarov

TASS, October 30. The majority of the passengers arriving by airplane on Sunday in Makhachkala, Dagestan, from Tel Aviv were women and children, including a child on artificial ventilation, Makhachkala Airport Director General Said Ramazanov said.

"There were mostly women and children; there were maybe five to ten men out of 50 [passengers]. One child was even in a wheelchair, on artificial ventilation, who also had to hide [and seek refuge] with all the others," Ramazanov told the Telegram channel of the Dagestan Republican State Broadcasting Company.

According to the airport official, casualties were avoided during the riots thanks to negotiations conducted on the spot by Russian State Duma deputy Khizri Abakarov. "Thanks to his actions, fortunately, we managed to defend these passengers, so no harm was done [to them]. He was here personally, he negotiated, he protected them. Thanks to his efforts, there were no casualties," Ramazanov added.

On October 29, mass riots broke out at Makhachkala airport over the arrival of a regular flight from Tel Aviv amid the escalating situation in the Middle East. Several hundred people entered the airport building and the airfield, and were later dispersed by law enforcement officers. According to the latest data, more than 20 people were injured, including police officers, and 60 rioters were detained. Dagestani authorities and religious figures condemned the incident, calling it a provocation.