Explosion causes fire at the Kerch bridge in the Kerch Strait, Crimea, October 8, 2022. A fire broke out early Saturday morning on the Kerch Bridge — preceded by an explosion — causing suspension of traffic and bringing bus and train services to a halt.
By Anadolu Agency
Three people were killed in the Crimean bridge blast, Russian investigators said Saturday.
Russia’s Anti-Terrorism Committee added that the truck driver who hit the Kerch Bridge, causing a massive explosion and fire, is a resident of Russia’s Krasnodar Krai.
The early morning incident left traffic suspended and brought bus and train services to a halt.
The Kerch Bridge — a pair of parallel bridges, a road and a railroad — is a key supply route for Russia which was built after Crimea’s annexation in 2014.
Footage and images, widely shared on social media, show that a road section collapsed and train carriages were burning on the bridge, which is the longest in Europe.
The Russian committee also said the bridge was damaged by “a truck bombing.”
Although Ukraine did not officially claim responsibility for the attack, multiple statements by Ukrainian officials pointed to the possibility.
Russia launched a war in Ukraine on Feb. 24, which has left 6,114 people dead and 9,132 others injured, according to UN estimates.
The war has pushed the world in two camps with Western nations imposing crippling economic sanctions on Russia, and Moscow retaliating by threatening of gas supply cuts to Europe.