An explosion ripped through a subway train in Saint Petersburg, Russia, claiming 10 lives, and severely injuring 50 others. Video footage and images soon began to do the rounds, giving an insight into the extent of the damage. Governor Georgy Poltavchenko has appealed to the citizens to remain vigilant. "I appeal to you citizens of St. Petersburg and guests of our city to be alert, attentive, and cautious and to behave in a responsible matter in light of events."
Footage showed hammering at the windows of a closed carriage, injured people lying bleeding on a platform, and many running away from the area amid clouds of smoke. Russian TV reported that while many have suffered lacerations from glass shards and metal, the force of the explosion was boosted by the confines of the carriage and tunnel.
President Vladimir Putin, who was in the city for a meeting with Belarussian leader Alexander Lukashenko, informed that the cause of the blasts remained unclear and that necessary steps were being undertaken to find out. While several sources cited two explosions, a source from emergency services stated that there had only been one, in a tunnel between stations. No connections between the explosion and the President's presence has been established yet.
Moscow deputy mayor Maxim Liksutov reported that Moscow authorities were tightening security on the subay in the Capital. The explosive device has been reported to be an improvised bomb filled with shrapnel, carried on to the location in a suitcase. Meanwhile Russian anti-terrorism committee informed that it found and deactivated a bomb at another subway station.
