News

Following the order of the Investigative Committee Chairman Alexander Bastrykin, the Major Cases Directorate has taken over the investigation into a blast in Saint Petersburg metro.

According to preliminary data, a yet unknown explosive device went off today at about 2:40 PM in a metro car between the Tekhnologichesky Institut and Sennaya Ploshchad stations. There are casualties. A team of experienced investigators and criminalists of the Investigative Committee’s Central Office has been sent to Saint Petersburg.

Though the investigation was opened in a crime under Article 205 of the RF penal Code (a terrorist attack), the investigators are going to check all possible options.

The investigative team keep on working at the explosion sight seizing items relative to the investigation, questioning witnesses and metro employees, working to confirm the number of dead and injured and looking into all the circumstances surrounding the blast. The information got during initial investigative operations suggests that the train conductor acted competently and may have helped avoild event more casualties. The blast happened between two stations, but the conductor made a right decision. Rather than stop the train after the blast, he continued on to the next station, which allowed passengers to evacuate and trescuers to tend to victims. 

Official spokesperson for the RF Investigative Committee                                                                          S.L. Petrenko