Two attackers on the run as images emerge of first ‘terror suspect’ accused of planting a nail bomb which ripped through carriages on St Petersburg metro killing at least 11 and injuring 50
April 3, 2017 in News by RBN Staff
**UPDATE: Suspect pictured in story has turned himself in claiming no involvement http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4375518/Explosion-metro-St-Petersburg.html ***
Source: Daily Mail
- The horrific blast occurred between Sennaya Ploshchad and Sadovaya train station in St Petersburg, Russia
- Ambulances raced to the scene of the carnage caused by a nail bomb which was detonated on the network
- Metro officials reported blast was from an improvised explosive device on board which included shrapnel
- At least 11 people are reported to have been killed by the blast and 50 including children have been injured
- Nobody has claimed responsibility, but previous attacks on Russia have been blamed on ISIS and Chechens
By GARETH DAVIES and JULIAN ROBINSON and ANTHONY JOSEPH IN LONDON and WILL STEWART IN ST PETERSBURG FOR MAILONLINE
Two suspected terrorists are on the run after a nail bomb planted in a St Petersburg train ripped through the carriages – killing at least 11 people and injuring 50 today.
Several Russian media outlets have released the CCTV picture of the bearded suspect who was wearing a long, black top and a hat blamed for causing the carnage by detonating a bomb that was packed with shrapnel.
The terrifying incident took place on a train that was travelling between Sennaya Ploshchad and Sadovaya metro stations. A second explosive device disguised as a fire extinguisher was found and defused in a nearby station.
Nobody has claimed responsibility for the explosion, but previous attacks on Russia have been blamed on ISIS and Chechens.
A search warrant has now been issued for two people in connection with the attack – one for planting the bomb which detonated at Sennaya Ploshchad and the other for leaving an explosive device at Ploshchad Revolutsii station. Russian authorities believe the man responsible for the blast is ‘young’ and from ‘central Asia’.
A source said: ‘Two people are being sought on suspicion of planning the blasts, one of whom is thought to have placed the explosive device in the metro wagon and the second person for leaving a bomb at the metro station Ploshchad Revolutsii.’
Dozens have been injured, including at least three children, as it was reported the man left a briefcase on a train before moving carriages moments before the deadly blast.
Russian officials have released this image of a man they believe is responsible for today’s massacre on the city’s metro train
Several media outlets in Russia have identified this man as the suspected terrorist who killed 12 people in St Petersburg
Pictured is the suspected bomber (ringed) outside a Metro station in the city of St Petersburg before the explosion
A man crawls away from the train as bloodied passengers attempt to save those injured in the subway in St Petersburg, Russia
A woman crouches over a man who has been injured in the blast as they are surrounded by carnage and blood
A man lies down on the platform after a bomb blast rips through a Metro carriage in the city of St Petersburg
An injured passenger is helped by emergency services outside Sennaya Ploshchad metro station, following explosions in two train carriages at metro stations in St. Petersburg, Russia April 3, 2017
A woman with a bandaged head is carried on a rescue blanket away from the massacre at the metro in St Petersburg
A second bomb, disguised as a fire extinguisher and packed with ball-bearings, was found and defused at a nearby station
An injured person walks outside Sennaya Ploshchad metro station with a blood-drenched coat and red hands
Bloodied passengers were left strewn across the platform in the Russian city as emergency services scrambled to save those wounded by the bomb and the resulting shards of glass and twisted metal.
St Petersburg resident Leonid Chaika, who said he was at the station where the blast happened, said: ‘I saw a lot of smoke, a crowd making its way to the escalators, people with blood and other people’s insides on their clothes, bloody faces. Many were crying.’
A video appeared online showing passengers on the metro jumping out of the windows of the train after the explosion.
A girl can be heard screaming ‘mama’ – Russian for mother – while people can be seen lying on the platform covered in blood.
Vladimir Putin is in his hometown of St Petersburg today for talks with the president of Belarus and confirmed ‘there are dead and injured’, offering his condolences to the families of those killed.
The Kremlin leader, who wanted to visit the scene in the aftermath of the attack but was held back by security services, said: ‘I have already spoken to the head of our special services, they are working to ascertain the cause of the blasts.
‘The causes are not clear, it’s too early. We will look at all possible causes, terrorism as well as common crime.’
US President Donald Trump described the deadly bomb blast as an ‘absolutely terrible thing’ that is ‘happening all over the world’ before a working lunch with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi.
The president did not make any further comment on the Monday blast that killed 11 people and injured about 40. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but Russian trains and planes have been targeted repeatedly by Islamic militants.
Interfax news agency cited an unidentified source who says the suspect in Monday’s blast might have left the explosive device in a bag.
A video appeared online showing passengers on the metro jumping out of the windows of the train after the explosion
A girl can be heard screaming ‘mama’ – Russian for mother – while people can be seen lying on the platform covered in blood
Russian online news outlet Fontanka published the grainy photo which shows a middle-aged man who entered Petrogradskaya station 20 minutes before the blast.
Interfax news agency earlier quoted a source as saying that surveillance cameras had captured photos of the blast suspect.
At this stage it is not clear whether or not the suspect was wearing the hat and gown as a disguise.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied earlier speculation that President Putin was due to pass by the Sennaya Metro station around the time of the blast.
The explosion happened between the Sennaya Ploshchad station and Tekhnologichesky Institut at around 2.40pm local time, Russia’s National Anti-Terrorism Committee said.
Smoke fills the air at the platform of the metro station after two nail bombs were detonated in St Petersburg
Firefighters, emergency service vehicles and a helicopter near Tekhnologichesky Institut station of the St Petersburg metro in the aftermath of an explosion which occurred in a train at 2.40pm Moscow time, according to Russian National Anti-terrorism Committee
Passengers disembark after a huge blast involving a nail bomb kills at least 11 people in St Petersburg, Russia
Emergency services raced to the station as passengers flood out from the platforms
A picture on Twitter claiming to show a man being treated at the scene as blood pours from his head and onto his shirt
An explosion on the metro in St Petersburg has ripped through a train carriage causing carnage as the door is completely blown out
A witnesses told Russia’s Life News: ‘People were bleeding, their hair burned. We were told to move to the exit, because the movement stopped. People just fled.
‘My girlfriend was in the next car that exploded. She said that he began to shake. When she came out, she saw that people were mutilated.’
A male eyewitness said: ‘It’s just like a war here. Every special service is here, the FSB, police, and multiple – really a lot of them – ambulances.
‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen to many paramedics in my life. Something completely horrible is happening here.’
Eight bodies were recovered from the carriage while two more were found on the platform or were in the tunnel.
Earlier reports indicated a backpack had been thrown onto the train and witnesses also suggested there had been multiple explosions, but officials confirmed just the one blast.
Russian security agencies did find an explosive device at a different metro station in central St Petersburg and made it safe, the National Anti-Terrorist Committee said in a statement.
The device was found at the Ploshchad Vosstaniya metro station, a different location from where a blast earlier took place.
Other witnesses also described a man leaving a briefcase on one carriage before moving to another just seconds before the huge explosion.
As reports of the suspected terror attack trickled through to the capital, Moscow heightened its security and local reports suggest three metro stations – Nagatinskaja, Savelovskaya and Ugrezhskaya (CIP) – were cordoned off due to suspicious packages.
Commuters walk away from the carnage as smoke fills the station in St Petersburg, Russia
Smoke fills the station at the metro station in Russia after two nail bombs were set off killing at least 11 and injuring 50
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin (L) and Russian Civic Chamber Secretary Alexander Brechalov attend the 4th Truth and Justice Independent Regional and Local Media Forum held by the All-Russian People’s Front
The Life News website showed pictures of blown-out train doors and several injured people on the station platform.
Metro bosses said there were reports of a blast – from an improvised explosive device – inside a train.
The subway’s administration says several stations in the northern Russian city have been closed and that an evacuation is underway Monday afternoon.
Russian news agencies quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying that Russian President Vladimir Putin has been informed about the explosion.
Putin is in discussion with the Director of the Federal Security Service who is inside the affected subway.
Polina, who was in the carriage next to the where explosion erupted, said: ‘There was quite a lot of people in the carriage: everyone was sitting, some were standing.
‘The explosion occurred between Sennaya and Technological Institute stations.
‘There was a deafening boom, and then a strong odour and smoke.
‘We immediately went to another end of the car. It was very crowded.
‘Everything was happening on the move, the train didn’t stop. At Technological Institute everyone got off.’
‘We saw that the next car was teared apart, windows were broken, no lights, blood. People were dragged out of it, some were carried, some were walking with support.
‘There was a lot of injured. I don’t know if there were dead, we left in about two minutes.’
There were fears a second, unexploded bomb was left on a platform on the network in St Petersburg, but it transpired to be an abandoned bag.
A subway worker who asked not to be named told local press: ‘The second carriage exploded.
‘The explosion was such a force that the flesh burned, people were in scrapes of the flesh, blood everywhere.’
Another witness said: ‘Many people have sandy traces on their faces.
‘Its not clear what bomb it was, no-one figured it yet. People are panicking, many are calling their mothers.’
Anna, who was at the station at the moment of explosion: ‘People were lying down, all black, scary, with a horrible smell of burned flesh.’
Another eyewitness said: ‘Everyone was ready for death in the metro carriage.
‘After the explosion everyone was waiting for the consequences. Then we were taken out, people started helping each other, walking others out, most of them were in blood.’
An injured commuter is helped by emergency services outside Sennaya Ploshchad metro station, following explosions in two train carriages at metro stations
Men carry one of the injured 50 on a stretcher outside Technological Institute metro station in Saint Petersburg on April 3, 2017
A man with blood splattered all over his face walks away from the scene that killed at least 12 people and injured 50 more
General view of the mass gathering of emergency services attending the scene outside Sennaya Ploshchad metro station, following explosions in a train carriage
A woman and firefighters at the entrance to Sennaya Ploshchad station of the St Petersburg metro in the aftermath of an explosion which occurred on board a train
An injured person is helped by emergency services outside Sennaya Ploshchad metro station after two blasts
The wreckage of the blast seen here by the damage to the door as a man inspects the scene
Medics help an injured woman outside Technological Institute metro station in Saint Petersburg on April 3, 2017
Bodies lie strewn across the platform and the doors are blown open after the two blasts on the Russian metro network
Three men walk away from the train in a smoke-filled subway station after a huge blast from a suspected nail bomb
Firefighters line the streets of St Petersburg in the immediate aftermath of the blast that has claimed at least 11 lives
Emergency vehicles and a helicopter are seen at the entrance to Technological Institute metro station in St Petersburg on April 3, 2017
Police officers guard the area at the entrance to Technological Institute metro station in St Petersburg on April 3, 2017
Emergency service workers and ambulance workers at the entrance to Tekhnologichesky Institut station in St Petersburg
The leader of the Kremlin is visiting the city today and is expected to hold talks with the Belarusian president later in the day.
Sennaya Ploshad is one of the Russian city’s main metro stations, where three underground lines connect.
It is beneath the large ‘Sennaya’ shopping centre as well as the offices of Gazprombank, Russia’s third largest bank.
Flowers and candles in memory of the St Petersburg metro explosion victims at Tekhnologichesky Institut station
Spartak Moscow’s fans hold a banner in memory of the St Petersburg metro explosion victims at their league match tonight
People lighting candles at the Leningrad Hero City memorial by the Kremlin Wall in memory of the St Petersburg metro explosion victims
A man laying flowers at the Leningrad Hero City memorial by the Kremlin Wall in memory of the St Petersburg metro explosion victims
A woman lights a candle at an entrance to Sennaya metro station in St Petersburg, just hours after the explosion on the train
The Mayor of Tel-Aviv in Israel lit up the the City Hall in the colours of the Russian flag as a mark of solidarity after the attack
The St Petersburg metro said in a statement carried by Russian news agencies that it has closed two stations, Technological Institute and Sennaya Ploshchad – two neighbouring stations on one line – and is evacuating all passengers.
‘Evacuation of passengers is ongoing, there are people injured,’ it said.
‘An unidentified object supposedly blew up in a (train) carriage.’
Following the reports, the Moscow metro also announced that it is ‘taking additional security measures’ as required by law in such situations, according to the network’s official Twitter account.