St.Petersburg metro explosion-multiple casualties reported after blast on subway

RT's article: St. Petersburg Metro blast

An explosion has taken place in the St. Petersburg Metro, the subway’s press service has confirmed. Pictures of thick smoke and a damaged train car have emerged on social media.

At least seven subway stations have been closed following the blast, St. Petersburg Metro said in a statement.

-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siFjlAnmba4

Link:

-https://www.rt.com/news/383206-blast-metro-petersburg-russia/

Independent's breaking news:

An explosion has been reported in a train on the Metro in St Petersburg, Russia.

Eyewitnesses told local media there were several casualties.

Life News publishes pictures of injured people lying on the platform and another picture of the Metro carriage door blown out.

Local media also report three Metro stations are closed.

Link:
-http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/st-petersburg-metro-explosion-russia-bomb-attack-casualties-blue-line-a7664251.html


RT's breaking news:

Pictures, showing thick smoke and a damaged train car in St Petersburg Metro have emerged online. Witnesses say that a blast has taken place. There are reports of casualties.
No official confirmation or casualty report was immediately available.

The local rescue services told TASS they were responding to the report of the smoke, but could not provide any detail.

Link:

-https://www.rt.com/news/383202-st-petersburg-blast-metro/

BBC's article:

'Casualties' after St Petersburg metro blast

At least 10 people have died after a blast on the underground system in St Petersburg, it has been reported.

Interfax and RIA news agencies said two blasts have been reported on the Russian city's Metro.

Three stations have been closed, according to local media outlet Fontanka.

The Tass news agency said that 10 have been killed according to "preliminary information".

Interfax also said about 10 had died, with about 20 injured.

At least one of the devices was filled with shrapnel, according to an Interfax source.

A Reuters witness said they saw eight ambulances near the Sennaya Ploshchad station and footage broadcast on local TV showed activity by the authorities outside the station entrance.

Link:

-http://news.sky.com/story/casualties-after-st-petersburg-metro-blast-10823471

Many thanks to all Sott editors for everything.

My condolences for the victims and relatives.


As far as I read Putin visited also St. Petersburg today.

Vladimir Putin is currently in St. Petersburg taking part in the All-Russia People’s Front media forum that opened on April 1.

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https://www.rt.com/news/383223-terrorism-considered-petersburg-blast/?utm_source=spotim&utm_medium=spotim_recirculation&spotim_referrer=recirculation

Putin's statement:

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.”

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_https://www.rt.com/news/383202-st-petersburg-blast-metro/

A suspected bomb blast inside a car of the St. Petersburg Metro system has resulted in casualties among passengers. The entire transit system is shut down as bomb squads and rescuers respond to the emergency.

The explosion happened as the train was travelling between the stations Tekhnologichesky Institut and Sennaya Ploshchad of the St. Petersburg Metro, the National Antiterrorism Committee (NAC) confirmed.

Images posted on social media show bodies lying next to the damaged car, with blood apparently spilt on a bench.

The St. Petersburg governor’s office said there were as many as 50 victims in the incident, including 10 fatalities. Two of the injured have been taken for surgery while two others are being prepared for operation.

The city healthcare committee said 25 people have been brought to hospital in the wake of the blast, including one child.

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.

Security has been increased in St. Petersburg over concerns of a potential follow-up attack, the NAC said. It also rejected media reports, which claimed that more than one explosion occurred, saying no evidence supporting this was found.

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.

A St. Petersburg resident told RT that he “was going to Mayakovskaya station [not far from Sennaya Square, the station that was hit] when the alarm went on and the security guards started to block all the entrances. They just told people to get away from the area and suggested not using the Metro today.”

According to the resident, who identified himself as Alex, “there was a bit of panic in the eyes of the people,” both passengers and subway staff alike.

“As there was an announcement that all the stations will be closed due to technical reasons,” people understood that something was wrong and rushed to the exits, he said.

Alex also recalled that he saw ambulances and police cars arriving at the station.

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https://www.rt.com/news/383202-st-petersburg-blast-metro/

RT has live coverage on their YT channel.

According to most recent information, the explosions in the subway of St. Petersburg were a terrorist attack. The bombings have claimed the lives of at least ten people, dozens of others, including children, have been injured.

Specialists say that the power of explosion that occurred on Sennaya Ploschad station was equivalent to 200-300 grams of TNT. The carriage, where the explosion took place, was twisted out of shape.

"The people were all covered with blood, many had their hair burned. Smoke was billowing out of the carriage. We were told to go ahead because the train communication was stopped. A friend of mine was riding the next carriage and she said that the carriage shook strongly," an eyewitness said.
Noteworthy, St. Petersburg currently hosts the IV Media Forum of the All-Russian People's Front. President Putin and the Kremlin administration are current in St. Petersburg, where they take part in the events.
Putin said that law-enforcement authorities consider all versions of the explosions in the subway of St. Petersburg, including terrorism. Putin has discussed the station with FSB chief Alexander Bortnikov.
It was also reported that an unexploded bomb was also found on Ploschad Vosstaniya station.
The subway system of St. Petersburg has been closed in its entirety after the bombings.

Link:
-http://www.pravdareport.com/news/hotspots/terror/03-04-2017/137326-petersburg_explosions-0/

Sad indeed.

More new about this attack.

_https://sputniknews.com/russia/201704031052244156-petersburg-blast-cctv-organizer/

Alleged organizer of the blast in the St.Petersburg metro was captured on CCTV, Russian news agencies report citing unnamed source.

"Alleged organizer of the explosion was captured on surveillance camera in metro," the source cited as saying.

Explosions in St. Petersburg metro

Homemade Explosive Device Defused in St Petersburg Metro After Deadly Blast
According to the preliminary data, the explosive device was installed in one of the train carriage.
An explosion took place in St. Petersburg underground at around 3 p.m. local time [12:00 GMT], killing at least 10 and injuring over 20 people, according to the Russian anti-terrorism committee.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed condolences to the families of victims. The president also said that terrorist attack considered as one of the possible causes of the explosion.

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Very sad indeed. My condolences & support to the Russian People.

I hope people in this forum from St. Petersburg or elsewhere who could be in the city's metro at that moment be OK.

Investigative Committee calls St. Petersburg subway blast terrorist attack

http://tass.com/world/939066

An explosion in St. Petersburg metro that has claimed at least ten lives is qualified as a "terror attack" by Russian investigators

Russia’s Investigative Committee has qualified the explosion on a St. Petersburg metro train as a terrorist attack. At the same time, the investigators are not excluding other versions, apat from terrorism, the IC spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko has told TASS.

"The criminal case was opened under Article 205 of the Criminal Code (Act of Terrorism), but the investigators are going to proceed along other lines of inquiry, too," she said.

The administration of St. Petersburg has declared a three days mourning starting Tuesday, the governor’s spokesman Andrey Kibitov wrote on Twitter.

In light of the St. Petersburg metro blast, transport security measures have been tightened in Moscow as well. Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin conveyed his condolences to the families and friends of those killed.

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My condolences to the families!

My condolences to the victims and their families, oh my.

Just a note that German media seem to be reporting just the facts - no assumptions and spins as far as I can see so far: _http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/st-petersburg-explosion-in-metro-berichte-ueber-tote-und-verletzte-a-1141651.html - except maybe the obligatory use of the word "state media", which in German implies "state-controlled media".

Interesting that the Spiegel website quotes (among others) an Israeli on twitter (who is in St. Petersburg?), Amichai Stein from _iba.org.il - looked on his twitter account, and he shared this tweet: _https://twitter.com/AmichaiStein1/status/848886439127519233, which retweets someone who says "The Zionists are behind this cruel act", with the comment in Hebrew "The responsibility for the attack in St. Petersburg - of course, not really." Fwiw

My condolences to the victims and their families as well. Some are already blaming Putin of course:

'Serious' Journalists Already Blaming Putin For St. Petersburg Terror Attack

Other than this forum and on Twitter it seems no one else really cares about one tragedy after another if it doesn't immediately touch them or their families. I was sensing something like a dark cloud last night and then this is today's tragic event. The Valley of the Shadow is a good description I think. :(

Coincidence or something else?

Russia Insider: Jihadists Attack Russian Embassy in Damascus

At approximately 2 P.M. (Damascus Time), the jihadist rebels of Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham fired a barrage of mortar shells and rockets towards the Al-Mazra’a District of Damascus City.

According to Al-Masdar’s Damascus correspondent, Ibrahim Joudeh, the jihadist rebels attempted to strike the Russian embassy inside the Syrian capital; however, they barely missed their intended target this afternoon.

Joudeh added that at least 20 artillery shells and rockets were fired towards the Russian embassy in Damascus, but luckily, no one was severely wounded by this attack.

The jihadist attack on the Russian embassy was followed by a number of airstrikes from the Russian Air Force, as they pummeled Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham in the town of Jobar.

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Link:

-http://russia-insider.com/en/politics/jihadists-attack-russian-embassy-damascus/ri19426

Fort Russ article:

At around 14:00 local time, terrorists, belonging to the group Hayat Tahrir Al Sham started to fire mortars and rockets towards the Russia Embassy building in Al Mazraa district of Damascus, Syria's capital city.

About 20 shells are rockets are said to have been fired, none, however, hit the target. There are no reports on casualties either.

In a response, Russian Air Force launched intense strikes on Hayat Tahrir Al Sham positions in Jobar, located in the eastern countryside of Damascus.

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Link:

-http://www.fort-russ.com/2017/04/terrorists-attack-russian-embassy-in.html

:( :(My sincere condolences to all the families of the 10 death people,those who are injured i wish them a sooner recovered.I really sad thinking in the great possibility of children injured Soon we are going to see the Putin`s answer.

My condolences to the families and innocent victims of this tragedy.

Moments after a metro station in St. Petersburg was attacked by unknown suspects on Monday, commuters fled the scene as carnage unfolded.

Video From Subway Moments After St. Petersburg Metro Attack (GRAPHIC VIDEO)
https://sputniknews.com/world/201704031052250833-video-inside-subway-stpetersburg-attack/

A video has surfaced of the discord immediately after the attack. In the video, passengers can be seen offering a helping hand and assisting people escape from damaged train cars. The graphic footage was first posted by Life News, a Russian news outlet. Warning: some viewers may find the following footage disturbing.

Officials have yet to discern the intention of the assailant or assailants, however the current investigation was initiated by the authority of Article 205 of the Russian Criminal Code. The article is designated specifically for terrorism investigations, but “the investigators will probe other potential causes of the incident,” Russian Investigative Committee spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko said.

The explosion left eleven dead and as many as 45 more injured.

The City of St. Petersburg has announced a three day mourning period due to the tragedy.

The Russian Investigative Committee has opened a terrorist act case following the deadly blast in the Saint Petersburg subway on Monday.

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Russia Launches Terrorist Act Case After St Petersburg Subway Blast
https://sputniknews.com/russia/201704031052246874-petersburg-metro-blast-terrorist-case/

Despite the fact that the criminal case has been launched under Article 205 of the Russian Criminal Code (terrorist act), the investigators will probe other potential causes of the incident," spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko told reporters.

An explosion in St.Petersburg metro occurred as the train moved between stations, the Investigative Committee stated on Monday.

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Blast in St.Pete Metro Occurred as the Train Moved Between Stations
https://sputniknews.com/russia/201704031052244156-petersburg-blast-train-between-stations/

According to the preliminary data, the explosive device was installed in one of the train carriage.

The decision of the train's driver not to stop train during the blast possibly helped to prevent more victims, according to the Investigative committee's statement.

The data obtained during the initial investigative actions indicate that the train driver, in whose car the explosion occurred, was acting competently in the situation. The explosion occurred on a section between the stations, but the driver took the absolutely correct decision not to stop the train, having reached the station, which made it possible to immediately start evacuation and assistance to the victims," Russian Investigative Committee spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko said.

She added this possibly helped prevent more victims, adding that investigators are questioning eyewitnesses and subway employees in the case.

An improvised explosive device was found and made safe at the Ploshchad Vosstania metro station in St. Petersburg on Monday, Russia's National Anti-Terrorist Committee (NAK) said.

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Homemade Explosive Device Defused in St Petersburg Metro After Deadly Blast
https://sputniknews.com/russia/201704031052242104-saint-petersburg-blast-homemade-device/

An improvised explosive device was found and timely destroyed at the Ploshchad Vosstania metro station," the NAK said in a statement.

The photo of the alleged improvised device defused at the Ploshchad Vosstania metro station.

Russia's Investigative Committee said that a group of experienced investigators and criminologists has been sent to investigate a blast in St. Petersburg metro on Monday.

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Top Experts Sent to Probe St. Petersburg Metro Blast - Investigative Committee
https://sputniknews.com/russia/201704031052239419-russia-st-petersburg-metro-blast/

A group of experienced investigators and criminologists has been sent to investigate a blast in St. Petersburg metro on Monday, Russia's Investigative Committee said.

"A group of experienced investigators and criminologists from the main directorate of the Investigative Committee was sent to St. Petersburg," Svetlana Petrenko, a spokeswoman for the Committee said.

Putin laid flowers near the Tekhnologichesky Institut station in St. Petersburg's subway, where a deadly attack took place earlier on Monday.

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Putin Lays Flowers Near St. Petersburg Metro Station Where Deadly Blast Occurred
https://sputniknews.com/russia/201704031052255643-putin-lays-petersburg-flowers/

Russian President Vladimir Putin laid flowers near the Tekhnologichesky Institut station in St. Petersburg's subway, where a deadly attack took place earlier on Monday, a Sputnik correspondent reported.

An explosion took place in St. Petersburg underground on the stretch between Sennaya Ploshchad and Tekhnologichesky Institut stations at around 3 p.m. local time (noon GMT).

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Putin is holding a meeting with security and law enforcement officials in St. Petersburg to discuss the deadly blast in local subway on Monday.

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Putin Holds Meeting on Metro Blast with St. Petersburg Security Officials
https://sputniknews.com/russia/201704031052256158-putin-holds-security-meeting/

Russian President Vladimir Putin is holding a meeting with security and law enforcement officials in St. Petersburg to discuss the deadly blast in local subway on Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Putin has arrived in FSB office in St. Petersburg where he is holding a meeting with federal Security Service, police, Rosgvardia and emergency situations officials to discuss today's blast in St. Petersburg's subway," Peskov told reporters.

The Washington Times has apparently used a photo taken during the March 26 protests to illustrate a report about an explosion in St. Petersburg metro.

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Washington Times Uses Photo of Protests for St. Petersburg Metro Blast Article
https://sputniknews.com/world/201704031052243653-newspaper-photo-mistake-bombing/

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova pointed out that the Washington Times, a US newspaper, used a photo from the March 26 protests as an illustration for the article about today’s bombing in the St. Petersburg metro. Screenshot of WT website

"There is hope that it’s not a deliberate compilation of facts made for the purpose of disinformation," Zakharova wrote on her Facebook page.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s annual “direct line” Q&A call-in session may be held in June, Russian media reported on Monday.

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Russian President’s Annual 'Direct Line' Q&A Call-In Session May Be Held in June
https://sputniknews.com/russia/201704031052222152-putin-direct-line-june/

The “direct line” may be coincided with the Russia Day celebrated on June 12 or with the Children’s Day on June 1, the Kommersant newspaper reported citing two sources close to the Presidential Administration.

Last week Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the “direct line” would be held later than in April – when it is usually held – but earlier than in August.

The “direct line” conference is a well-established tradition that has continued since 2001. The 2016 televised phone conference with the Russian people lasted 3 hours and 40 minutes. Putin answered 80 questions out of the over 3 million that were received.

Horrible !!

And it reminds me of this clown John Kirby:

What happens if Russia maintain their presence in Syria....

Consequences of Russia will be more attacks on Russian cities, more Russians in body bags etc.