Bombings spark Games fears
Moscow – At least 10 people were killed when an explosion ripped through a trolleybus in the second deadly blast in the southern Russian city of Volgograd in two days, the Interfax news agency reported, citing law enforcement officials.
The explosion last night ( NZ time) came a day after a suicide bomber killed at least 17 people in the main railway station of Volgograd 40 days before Russia is to hold the Winter Olympics in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi.
President Vladimir Putin ordered tighter security at airports and railway stations yesterday as the suicide attacks raised fears of a Chechen wave of terror in the run- up to the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi.
In the first recent blast, at least 17 people were killed and 38 injured when a bomber detonated explosives just outside the metal detectors at Volgograd railway station.
Footage from a security camera opposite the station showed a bright orange flash at the moment of the explosion, which blew out dozens of windows and left piles of debris. State television showed ambulances lining up on the forecourt and motionless bodies on the ground.
‘‘ It was a very powerful blast,’’ Valentina Petrichenko, a shopkeeper at the station, told the Vesti- 24 TV channel. ‘‘ Some people started running and others were thrown back by the wave of the blast. It was very scary.’’
The station was packed as passengers hurried to get home in time for new year, the main winter holiday in Russia. Officials said the bomb had the explosive equivalent of over 7kg of TNT.
‘‘ People were lying on the ground, screaming and calling for help,’’ a witness, Alexander Koblyakov, told Rossiya- 24 TV. ‘‘ I helped carry out a police officer whose head and face were covered in blood. He couldn’t speak.’’
Another witness, Roman Lobachev, who survived the explosion with minor injuries, told Rossiya television that he was putting his bags on a belt for screening when he heard the sound of an explosion. ‘‘ I heard a bang and felt as if something hit me on the head,’’ he said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility. However, Doku Umarov, a Chechen warlord, urged militants in a video posted online in July to use ‘‘ maximum force’’ to prevent Putin staging the Olympics.
The attack, just over two months after a female suicide bomber killed six people on a bus in the same city, raised questions about the effectiveness of security measures that the Kremlin routinely orders to be increased after bombings. It will heighten concerns about the Russian Government’s ability to safeguard the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.
The Games, which open in fewer than 40 days’ time, are a prestige project for President Putin, who wants to show how far Russia has come since the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.
Although small terrorist attacks are routine in the Caucasus, the authorities will be rattled by a bombing in Russia’s heartland, in a city of more than one million people. The attack in Volgograd – formerly Stalingrad – is the deadliest since a bombing at Domodedovo airport in Moscow claimed 37 lives nearly two years ago.
‘‘ We can expect more such attacks,’’ said Alexei Filatov, deputy head of the veterans’ association of the elite Alfa antiterrorism unit.
‘‘ The threat is greatest now because it is when terrorists can make the biggest impression,’’ he added. ‘‘ The security measures were beefed up long ago around Sochi, so terrorists will strike instead in these nearby cities like Volgograd.’’
Filatov said that the widespread practice of placing metal detectors at the entrance of airports and stations risked causing more casualties. ‘‘ We are creating this danger ourselves by allowing a place for a crowd to gather,’’ he said.
Volgograd Mayor Irina Guseva said emotions were high because a child was among the dead.
‘‘ But we will not allow panic to grip this city,’’ she said.
There were conflicting reports about the identity of the bomber. Witnesses and early reports spoke of a woman, but the Chechen suspect initially named issued a denial on Facebook, and further analysis of security video footage suggested the attack had been carried out by a man.
Putin was immediately informed of the blast, which analysts fear might mark the start of a terror campaign across Russia.
‘‘ We will all feel nervous about using the metro now,’’ said one Muscovite on hearing the news from Volgograd.
Putin promised compensation for victims’ families and mercy flights to the best hospitals in the capital for the gravely injured. The Interior Ministry promised stricter checks on passengers at stations and airports.