Terrorism probe has been launched over the blast by Russia’s Investigative Committee.
The NAC put the number of fatalities at 11 and the number of injured being treated in hospitals at 45. She said that the six people being treated in St. Petersburg hospitals for injuries remain in critical condition.
Health Minister Veronika Skvortsova earlier said that among the victims was a 15-year-old girl, who has burns and a head injury.
Piercing screams can be heard, as passengers prize open the metal doors, and clamber out of the blown-out windows. Some passersby, evacuating from the undamaged cars, stop to help the survivors of the blast.
Images posted on social media show bodies lying next to the damaged car, with blood apparently spilt on a bench.
According to health officials, the victims being treated in hospitals vary in age from teenagers to as old as 70. They are suffering from burns, blunt head traumas, shrapnel injuries and lung damage.
Russia’s Investigative Committee praised the driver of the train for not trying to stop in the tunnel after the explosion.
“He acted right in the circumstances. The explosion happened in the tunnel between stations, but the driver took the right decision and brought it to the next station, which allowed evacuation and help to the injured to start at once. This may have prevented casualties,” the committee said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin commented that “The causes of this event have not been determined yet, so it’s too early to talk about [possible causes]. The investigation will show. Certainly, we will consider all possibilities: common, criminal, but first of all of a terrorist nature.”
All Metro stations are closed to passengers. Commuters were evacuated from the subway within about an hour of the first reports of the blast coming in.
An undetonated improvised explosive device (IED) was discovered by investigators at the Ploshchad Vosstaniya Station and defused by specialists, the NAC reported. It rejected media reports which claimed that more than one explosion occurred, saying no evidence supporting this was found.
Photos of the IED surfaced on social media. They show a medium-sized leather bag, which apparently held a container filled with explosives, with ball bearings wrapped around it.
Facebook has activated its Safety Check feature for users in St Petersburg. It allows people to let friends and family know that they are OK during a disaster or dangerous situation.
The St. Petersburg city authorities declared three days of mourning for the victims of the Metro explosion
- Explosion on Metro train in Russian city of St Petersburg
- At least 10 killed and dozens injured by ‘briefcase’ bomb
- CCTV image released of suspect pictured at station
- Warrants issued for two people wanted over bombing
- Blast reported to have been caused by shrapnel-filled device
- Another unexploded bomb deactivated at another station
- Putin was in city for meeting with Belarusian counterpart
- Everything we know so far about the St Petersburg explosion
Russian authorities were hunting for two suspected terrorists on Monday after a bombing on the Saint Petersburg subway system killed 10 people and wounded dozens.
The blast, which struck a crowded metro train near the historic city centre at 2:20 local time, and came as Vladimir Putin was visiting the city.
Shortly afterwards police discovered at larger, unexploded device at one of the city’s busiest metro stations, prompting authorities to close the entire underground transport system.
“A blast occurred at Sennaya Ploshchad metro station,” a police source told the Russian news agency Tass, “several people have been injured.”
Witnesses on board the crowded train said it was shaken by a “thundering clap” that filled the carriages with smoke shortly after it left the station.
“The reasons behind it are not clear yet, and so it would be premature to speak about them,” he cautioned.
Later, security sources told the Interfax news agency that the device was “homemade” with a blast equivalent to 200g of TNT. The device appeared to have been packed full of shrapnel including metal nuts and bolts to cause maximum damage and had been left in the carriage in a back pack by the attacker, investigators said.
A second bomb, disguised as a fire extinguisher, was later found at the Ploshchad Vosstanaya metro station, which serves the mainline railway station that connects St Petersburg with Moscow. The device, which apparently failed to explode, was reported to contain about 1 kilogram of TNT equivalent, prompting speculation that it was intended as the “main” attack.
The Investigative Committee, Russia’s top investigative agency, opened a terrorism investigation and issued search warrants for two people in connection with the attack.
The suspects, who have not been named, were believed to have each planted one of the devices, the Interfax news agency reported.
Russian media published CCTV images of a bearded man they claimed was the suspected attacker. Russia law enforcement agencies did not immediately confirm whether the man pictured was one of the suspect.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
Russia’s transport infrastructure has been repeatedly targeted by Islamist terror groups based in the North Caucasus over the past two decades.
Flowers laid in memory of Metro blast victims
Flowers are being laid in memory of the Metro explosion victims tonight, including at the Leningrad Hero City memorial by the Kremlin Wall in Moscow where a man is pictured laying a rose.
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