washingtonpost.com MOSCOW — A large explosion tore apart a train as it traveled between two central St. Petersburg metro stations Monday, killing at least nine people and injuring at least 20, Russia’s federal anti-terrorism authority said.
Andrei Przhezdomsky, spokesman for the National Anti-Terrorism Committee, said the explosion was caused by “an unidentified explosive device” that was detonated in one of the cars as the train traveled from Sennaya Ploshchad station, one of the main interchanges of the city’s subway system, at about 2:30 p.m.
The train was able to make it to the next station, where authorities were able to reach the victims, Przhezdomsky said in remarks broadcast on state television. Amateur video shared on social media showed a train with a large, jagged blast hole in the side of one car.
Authorities have not given extensive reports on the direction of the investigation, but counterterrorism experts and others were part of the probe. One detail emerged: officials said the blast was not a suicide attack.
Shortly after the blast, the entire St. Petersburg subway system was shut down as a precaution, and security was boosted around the city, where Russian President Vladimir Putin was holding talks with Belarusan leader Alexander Lukashenko.
Earlier reports by Russian’s state-run news agency placed the death toll at 10, based on “preliminary” information. Russia’s health minister, Veronika Skvortsova, said seven people died at the scene, one died en route to the hospital and another while undergoing treatment.
Russia’s Investigative Committee also said that it opened a criminal investigation.
“I have already talked to the chiefs of special services, the [Federal Security Service] director,” Putin said in televised remarks at the meeting with Lukashenko, a key Russian ally. “The law enforcement agencies and special services are working, and they will do everything to find out the causes of the incident and make a full assessment of what has happened.”
Viktor Ozerov, a member of the defense and security committee of the upper house of the Russian parliament, told the Interfax news agency that the attack had “all the characteristics of a terrorist attack.”
The around the Sennaya Ploshchad station is famous as the setting of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel “Crime and Punishment.” (ontinueReading
No comments:
Post a Comment