Suicide.jpg (Photo : images.china.cn)
An unidentified suicide bomber detonated an explosive inside the main entrance to the Volgograd train station today killing at least 18 people and injuring many more.
Footage of the blast from security cameras showed a bright orange flash after the explosion, followed by dark smoke exiting through the shattered glass and twisted metal of the entrance doors. Volgograd, formerly known as Stalingrad, lies about 900 km south of Moscow and about 700 km from Sochi.
According to reports, at around 8:45 GMT an unidentified person, originally thought to be a woman but later described as a man, entered the station and headed toward the main hall. Just before the security section, the bomber reportedly became nervous when he or she saw the police approaching and detonated a bomb before passing through the metal detector.
The bomb carried by the individual contained 10 kg of TNT and scraps of metal. It was designed so that when detonated, it would spray shrapnel within the immediate blast area.
The explosion instantly killed the bomber along with 13 other people standing nearby. Another victim died later while being attended to at the hospital. Police report that at least 40 more people were injured in the blast with at least five in serious condition.
According to police, if the bomber had successfully passed through security and detonated the bomb in the waiting area, the death and injury toll would have been much higher as the station was full of people traveling for the holidays.
With less than 40 days to the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, the blast calls into question Olympic organizers’ promise that this year’s games will be the safest ever. Although no group has yet claimed responsibility, authorities worry that it may be connected with insurgents from the nearby North Caucasus region. North Caucasus insurgents have warned that they intend to sabotage the Games.
Authorities said the blast is being considered as a terrorist attack. After the blast, Russian leader Vladimir Putin has ordered tighter security and surveillance at all Russian train stations.
