‘There was no time to be afraid, it was time to work’
Print Edition
ALEXANDER Kaverin, driver of the St Petersburg metro train hit by a deadly explosion, has become an unlikely hero in a tragedy that has claimed 14 lives and injured dozens.
The 50-year-old Russian appeared stunned in the spotlight of state television, describing how he had driven the train through to the next station despite smoke from a blast in one of its carriages.
“I followed the instructions,” Kaverin said. “We have already had explosions and smart people developed smart instructions. At that moment there was no time to be afraid, it was time to work.”
Kaverin said he had learned that in such situations, he needed to drive the train all the way to the next station.
Russian investigators said Kaverin had made the “right decision” by not stopping the train between two stations, which enabled quick evacuation of injured passengers.
The head of St Petersburg’s metro, Vladimir Garyugin, said that Kaverin had been a “hero.”
“In emergency situations people become heroes,” Garyugin said. “It would have complicated the task to carry people out,” he added.
Kaverin, who has worked at the metro for 15 years, will be rewarded for his actions, along with another unnamed employee who discovered a second bomb and called in experts to defuse it, said Garegin.
Kaverin, the father of two young children, said he called his family to say he was all right as soon as he had the chance.
Garyugin said that half an hour before the blast, another metro employee had notified authorities about an abandoned bag at another station, Vosstaniya Square, which was quickly evacuated. He “quickly cordoned off the area and called in experts,” thwarting another attack, Garyugin said.
Garyugin praised passengers for having remained calm and assisting one another.
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