Authorities say three dead as Russia opens a criminal probe into the blast that blew up the vital bridge linking Moscow-annexed Crimea to the mainland.
The speaker of Russia’s lower house of parliament, the Duma, called it “an act of war” [Reuters]
A key bridge linking the Crimean peninsula with mainland Russia has been partially destroyed in a truck explosion, Russian media reported, putting at risk a key supply route for Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine.
The speaker of Russia’s lower house of parliament, the Duma, called it “an act of war” as the country’s investigative committee said on Saturday it had “initiated a criminal case in connection with the incident on the Crimean bridge,” adding that “a truck was blown up”.
“According to preliminary information, this morning on the automobile part of the Crimean bridge from the side of the Taman Peninsula, a truck was blown up, which caused seven fuel tanks to ignite on a train heading towards the Crimea peninsula,” the committee said.
“As a result, two lanes partially collapsed.”
People watch fuel tanks ablaze on the Kerch bridge in the Kerch Strait, Crimea, October 8, 2022 [Reuters]
Three people have been found dead so far as the result of the truck explosion, Russia’s Investigative Committee said.
“They are believed to be passengers of a car that was near the truck that exploded. The bodies of two victims, a man, and a woman, have already been recovered from the water and their identities are being established,” the committee said in a statement.
The investigators have also established the details of the truck and its owner, registered in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region, and begun searching his place of residence, it added.
Officials said Russian President Vladimir Putin was informed about the explosion and had ordered the creation of a government panel to deal with the emergency.
the explosion and had ordered the creation of a government panel to deal with the emergency.
In a decree issued hours after the blast, Putin said the Federal Security Service (FSB) would be responsible for strengthening security for the bridge, as well as the infrastructure supplying electricity and natural gas to the peninsula, according to Interfax news agency.
Ukrainian officials celebrated the incident but did not claim responsibility, with the head of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, Oleksiy Danilov, posting a video of the burning bridge on social media alongside a video of Marilyn Monroe singing “Happy birthday, Mr. President”, a reference to Putin’s 70th birthday on Friday.
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Ukrainian presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak, meanwhile, suggested late Saturday that Moscow was involved in the blast.
“It is worth noting that the truck that detonated, according to all indications, entered the bridge from the Russian side. So the answers should be sought in Russia,” he said in comments released by the presidency.
Source: Aljazeera