At least one person has been killed following a shooting near a Unesco World Heritage site in the North Caucasus region of Dagestan in Russia.

It is believed that 11 other people were injured after gunmen opened fire at a group of tourists at the historic Naryn-Kala fortress in Derbent on Tuesday night.

The RIA Novosti news agency quoted a local health official as saying: "As a result of a gun attack, 12 people were hurt, one of whom died."

The person that died is believed to be a border guard - one of two who were accompanying the group. Four of those injured are in a serious condition.

Shots were reportedly fired from a nearby pine forest at the group of people who were on the observation platform of the fortress, a spokesman from Dagestan's Investigative Committee's department told TASS news agency.

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Fatina Ubaydatova, a Dagestani police spokeswoman, said on Wednesday that there had been two gunmen, both of whom managed to escape.

A source reportedly told TASS: "Among those injured are both civilians and military. Sixty-seven cartridges of various caliber were found at the site."

The attack is being investigated and police are searching for the gunmen.