35 killed in suicide blast at busy Moscow airport
Source: Agencies |
January 25, 2011, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
A BOMB ripped through the international arrivals hall at Moscow's busiest airport yesterday, killing at least 35 people and wounding about 130, officials said. The Russian president called it a terror attack.
The state RIA Novosti news agency, citing law enforcement sources, said the mid-afternoon explosion at Domodedovo Airport may have been caused by a suicide bomber. People at the airport said it was filled with thousands of people at the time and the terminal quickly filled up with smoke.
"From the preliminary information we have, it was a terror attack," President Dmitry Medvedev told officials in a televised briefing.
He ordered authorities to beef up security at Moscow's two other commercial airports and other transport facilities, including the subway system, the target of past terror attacks.
Although there have been repeated attacks on the Moscow subway and Russian trains - most blamed on Chechen militants - yesterday's bombing was the first involving a Russian airport since 2004.
Sergei Lavochkin, who was waiting in the arrivals hall for a friend to arrive from Cuba, said he saw emergency teams carrying bloodied people out of the terminal.
"I heard a loud bang, saw plastic panels falling down from the ceiling and heard people screaming. Then people started running away," Lavochkin told Rossiya 24 television.
Mark Green, a British Airways passenger who had just arrived at the airport, told BBC television he heard the huge explosion as he left the terminal.
"Literally, it shook you," he said. "As we were putting the bags in the car a lot of alarms were going off and people started flowing out of the terminal, some of whom were covered in blood.
"One gentleman had a pair of jeans on that was ripped and his thigh from his groin to his knee was covered in blood."
Thousands of people were in the terminal at the time of the blast.
A spokeswoman for the airport said 35 people had been killed by the explosion.
Sofia Malyavina, a spokeswoman for the Social Development and Health Ministry, said 56 ambulances were sent to treat the victims.
Built in 1964, Domodedovo is l42 kilometers southeast of the center of Moscow and the largest of the three major airports that serve the Russian capital, handling more than 22 million people last year.
It is generally regarded as Moscow's most up-to-date airport, but its security procedures have been called into question.
In 2004, two suicide bombers were able to board planes at Domodedovo by buying tickets illegally from airport personnel.
The female bombers blew themselves up in mid-air, killing 90 people on the two flights.
Currently 77 airlines offer regular flights to Domodedovo, serving 241 international and national routes, according to airport's website.
The airport insists security is one of its top priorities, claiming on its website that its "cutting-edge operations technology guarantees the safety of passengers' and guests' lives."
Terrorists have previously targeted other transportation centers in Moscow.
Twin blasts in the subway last March killed 39 people and wounded more than 60 people.
In December 2009, Chechen rebels claimed responsibility for blowing up a high-speed train between Moscow and St Petersburg, an attack that killed 26 people and injured scores of others.
The state RIA Novosti news agency, citing law enforcement sources, said the mid-afternoon explosion at Domodedovo Airport may have been caused by a suicide bomber. People at the airport said it was filled with thousands of people at the time and the terminal quickly filled up with smoke.
"From the preliminary information we have, it was a terror attack," President Dmitry Medvedev told officials in a televised briefing.
He ordered authorities to beef up security at Moscow's two other commercial airports and other transport facilities, including the subway system, the target of past terror attacks.
Although there have been repeated attacks on the Moscow subway and Russian trains - most blamed on Chechen militants - yesterday's bombing was the first involving a Russian airport since 2004.
Sergei Lavochkin, who was waiting in the arrivals hall for a friend to arrive from Cuba, said he saw emergency teams carrying bloodied people out of the terminal.
"I heard a loud bang, saw plastic panels falling down from the ceiling and heard people screaming. Then people started running away," Lavochkin told Rossiya 24 television.
Mark Green, a British Airways passenger who had just arrived at the airport, told BBC television he heard the huge explosion as he left the terminal.
"Literally, it shook you," he said. "As we were putting the bags in the car a lot of alarms were going off and people started flowing out of the terminal, some of whom were covered in blood.
"One gentleman had a pair of jeans on that was ripped and his thigh from his groin to his knee was covered in blood."
Thousands of people were in the terminal at the time of the blast.
A spokeswoman for the airport said 35 people had been killed by the explosion.
Sofia Malyavina, a spokeswoman for the Social Development and Health Ministry, said 56 ambulances were sent to treat the victims.
Built in 1964, Domodedovo is l42 kilometers southeast of the center of Moscow and the largest of the three major airports that serve the Russian capital, handling more than 22 million people last year.
It is generally regarded as Moscow's most up-to-date airport, but its security procedures have been called into question.
In 2004, two suicide bombers were able to board planes at Domodedovo by buying tickets illegally from airport personnel.
The female bombers blew themselves up in mid-air, killing 90 people on the two flights.
Currently 77 airlines offer regular flights to Domodedovo, serving 241 international and national routes, according to airport's website.
The airport insists security is one of its top priorities, claiming on its website that its "cutting-edge operations technology guarantees the safety of passengers' and guests' lives."
Terrorists have previously targeted other transportation centers in Moscow.
Twin blasts in the subway last March killed 39 people and wounded more than 60 people.
In December 2009, Chechen rebels claimed responsibility for blowing up a high-speed train between Moscow and St Petersburg, an attack that killed 26 people and injured scores of others.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
