The Blast Kills 14 and Wounded At Least 50 People
A deadly blast rocked Russia’s city of St. Petersburg metro Monday, killing at least 14 and wounding more than 50 people.
The blast ripped through a train as it was traveling in a tunnel between two stations from Sennaya Ploshchad to Tekhnologichesky Institut in the country’s second largest city.
Investigation is still underway to figure out out the cause of the explosion and the perpetrators of the brutal attack. A preliminary probe by the National Anti-Terrorism Committee says the blast was caused by an unidentified explosive device in one of the train’s cars.
Some speculated it could be linked to a suicide attack. But this assumption was not confirmed by the authorities.
In the hours after the blast, the committee also found a second device at another metro station in Revolutionary Square. This was immediately disabled by the anti-terrorism committee.
St Petersburg’s subway is busy most of the time as it carries 2 million passengers a day. The whole system was closed after the blast.
The Bloody Aftermath
The blast left a trail of bloody destruction. CNN says bodies were seen scattered across a station platform outside the train. Wounded passengers came out of the train looking shocked and shouting for help.
Accounts of witnesses also highlighted terrifying and panic scenes.
One passenger described the horror in the aftermath of the blast.
“In the metro car, everyone expected death, if I can say that. After the explosion, everyone expected consequences. Then we were taken out, and people began to help each other, brought others out. Most were covered in blood.” – state-run TASS.
Another witness with a name of Alexey Chirochkin said the scene inside the train cars horrified him.
Alexey Chirochkin said, “People there did not have whole bodies … They were not asking for help. They were not moving. Their eyes were glassy. They were bleeding out. Not a pleasant thing to see.”
Putin’s Reaction
President Vladimir Putin visited St. Petersburg earlier in the day before the explosion occurred. Saddened by the loss of lives, Putin laid roses in memory of the victims at a makeshift memorial with candles outside the bombed metro station before going to meet security chiefs.
Aside from that, Putin offered his condolences to the victims and said he has been in contact with the security services about the ongoing investigation.
At a meeting with Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko, Putin highlighted that it is still early to talk about the cause of the attack. But it is possible that it is related to terrorism.
Putin said, “Naturally, we always consider all options – both domestic and criminal, primarily incidents of a terrorist nature.”
