Metro carnage
EXPAT teacher Paul Curry today spoke of his horror after 10 people were killed in a terror attack on his adopted home’s underground
Mr Curry, 43, from Hebburn, South Tyneisde, has been living in Russia’s St Petersburg for the past five years and regularly uses the metro system where the attack took place.
Mr Curry, who’s mum lives in Washington, said: “In five years of living in Russia, this is the first time I’ve been close to anything dangerous. Russia is a great place, and incidents like this are sickening and not representative of the country, and especially this city.
“The next time I use the metro, probably on Saturday, I’ll be feeling very nervous.”
The head of Russia’s National Anti-Terrorist Committee said the blast hit a train between Sennaya Ploshchad and Tekhnologichesky Institut stations.
The committee said an explosive device was later found and made safe at another station nearby.
Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said the explosion was “terrorist attack”.
An anti-terror investigation has been opened, but other possible causes are being investigated.
Mr Curry, who lives in North West St Petersburg, close to the brand new Zenit stadium for next year’s World Cup, said the attack had come as a huge shock in the city, which is known for its “hugely reliable” Metro system.
He added: “I heard what had happened at about 3pm our time. I work several miles away from where it happened but use the Metro a lot.”
Health Minister Veronika Skvortsova said 10 people had died - seven at the scene, one in an ambulance and two in hospital - and that 37 people were hurt.
The entire St Petersburg underground network has now been shut down, and metro officials in the capital Moscow said they were introducing extra security measures there as a result.
President Vladimir Putin said all causes, especially terrorism, were being investigated. He was in St Petersburg at the time of the blast, his spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
“I have already spoken to the head of our special services, they are working to ascertain the cause,” Mr Putin said, at a meeting with Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko.
The discovery of an explosive device at another station, Ploshchad Vosstaniya, indicates the attack was deliberate, and reports in Russia say the explosion came from a briefcase left on the train.