Explosion in St. Petersburg metro kills 10

Monday, April 3, 2017

Dozens wounded, all stations in northern Russian city shut down

An explosion on a subway train in the Russian city of St. Petersburg has left 10 people dead and about 50 injured, according to the Tass and Interfax news agencies.

The blast occurred as the train arrived at the Technology Institute station from the Sennaya Ploshchad stop, according to officials.

All subway stops in the northern city have been shut down. Moscow metro officials said it was taking unspecified additional security measures in case of an attack there.

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Social media users posted photographs from one subway station in the city centre that show people lying on the floor and a train with a mangled door nearby.

Video from the St. Petersburg scene showed injured people lying bleeding on a platform, some being treated by emergency services. Others ran away from the platform amid clouds of smoke. Passengers were seen hammering at the windows of one closed carriage.

The cause of the blast was not immediately clear.

Russian news agencies quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying Russian President Vladimir Putin has been informed about the explosion. Putin is visiting the city Monday and is expected to hold talks with the president of Belarus later in the day.

Putin offered his condolences to the victims' families.

"I have already spoken to the head of our special services. They are working to ascertain the cause [of the blasts]," Putin, said.

"The causes are not clear. It's too early. We will look at all possible causes, terrorism as well as common crime," he added.

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