St. Petersburg Metro blast - UPDATED
Channel: TIL
Date: 2017-04-03

An explosion in the St. Petersburg Metro has left at least 10 people dead and 37 injured. Russia’s Investigative Committee has launched a terrorist probe into the incident. Another explosive device has also been found and defused. 03 April 2017 16:59 GMT Apple CEO Tim Cook tweeted in Russian, extending his “sincere condolences to all those affected by the tragedy in St Petersburg.” 16:57 GMT The authorities are searching for two people suspected of being implicated in the bombing, a law enforcement source told Interfax. “One of them planted the explosive device that went off inside the train, the second one left the explosive device at the Ploshchad Vosstaniya station,” the source said, adding that the second bomb was concealed as a fire extinguisher. 16:37 GMT UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned the explosion in St. Petersburg, his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said, according to Sputnik. “The Secretary-General condemns today’s bombing in the St. Petersburg metro. He extends his deepest sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims and to the government and the people of the Russian Federation,” Dujarric said. 16:34 GMT The St. Petersburg Metro has not been reopened yet, a transport official told RIA Novosti. “The Metro is still closed. We are waiting for an order from security forces that are checking all stations and tunnels. The volume of works is large, we can’t rule out we will still be working at night,” she said. 16:29 GMT France has increased public transport security following the explosion in St. Petersburg, Reuters reported. “Following the events in the St. Petersburg Metro, and as a precautionary measure, Interior Minister Matthias Fekl has decided to redeploy security means in public transport across the Paris region,” the ministry said in a statement. “Amid an extremely high terrorism threat, the government continues to take measures to protect the French people.” 16:03 GMT Russia’s Investigative Committee has described the explosion as a terrorist attack, but other theories about the incident causes are also being considered, Svetlana Petrenko, a spokeswoman for the Investigative Committee, told TASS. 16:03 GMT Three days of mourning starting from tomorrow has been announced in St. Petersburg, according to an order issued by the city’s governor, Sergey Poltavchenko.