Moscow metro blast kills 39, Putin blames Chechens

A Moscow blast tore through a packed Moscow underground train during the morning rush hour yesterday, killing at least 39 passengers and injuring more than 100 in what police said was a "terrorist act".

Survivors said the blast blew out carriage windows, shredded seats, twisted metal and sparked a fire. Some had to walk about two km (one mile) to safety after clambering from the wrecked train, which had been crammed with commuters going to work.

President Vladimir Putin said there was no doubt Chechen rebels, fighting for independence for their Muslim homeland in the north Caucasus, had carried out the attack.

He linked it to the March 14 presidential election in which he is strong favourite.

Speaking to reporters in the Kremlin, Putin accused Chechen rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov of being behind the explosion. "We know for certain that Maskhadov and his bandits are linked to this terrorism," he said. "We do not need any indirect confirmation."

A spokesman for the fugitive Chechen leader said neither Maskhadov nor his separatist government were "connected to this bloody provocation and (they) unequivocally condemn it".

Though news of attacks rarely dents Putin's popularity, he said the train blast could be a factor "in debates within the framework of Russian presidential elections and used as a lever to put pressure on the current head of state".

The blast occurred at 8.30 a.m. (0530 GMT) in the second carriage as the train sped through a tunnel towards Moscow's busy Paveletskaya station.

Officials said the blast killed 39 people and put 113 in hospital, 21 in serious condition. Many were being treated for carbon monoxide poisoning as well as broken limbs and burns.

Some officials said a suicide bomber triggered the explosion. Chechen separatists have staged several bomb attacks in Moscow - some by female suicide bombers known as "black widows" - in their campaign for independence.

"According to the information we have, the blast was most likely to have been caused by a suicide bomber," Interfax quoted Deputy Moscow Prosecutor Vladimir Yudin as saying. Earlier reports said the bomb might have been planted on the train.

Moscow deputy mayor Valery Shantsev said the bomb had been packed with five kg of explosives.

President George W. Bush, who has formed a close bond with Putin because of Moscow's support for what Washington calls the war on terror, telephoned the Kremlin leader to express his resolve jointly to "oppose the terrorist threat," the Kremlin said in a statement. Other leaders offered condolences.

"The explosion was at the front of the second carriage in a tunnel. As soon as the train stopped people began climbing out through windows and doors," said eyewitness Lyudmila, 31.

Lyudmila - her face blackened with soot - said she made her way to safety by walking along the track from the blazing train through clouds of dust.

Police issued a composite sketch of a suspect, a man with a dark complexion in his 40s. Security was stepped up in the city of 10 million, including spot checks on major roads.

Train driver Vladimir Gorelov, who radioed to have high voltage lines switched off on the track, said: "There was no panic, no stampede, people behaved very calmly, very well. It was only when I received confirmation that the power was off I opened the door and started to lead people away."

Recent deadly attacks by Chechen separatists included a bomb last December near the Kremlin which killed six people. Last July, two Chechen women blew themselves up at an open-air music festival, killing 14 other people.

Putin used the Chechnya issue to boost his popularity when he was first elected to the Kremlin in 2000.

As prime minister in 1999, he oversaw the dispatch of troops to Chechnya for the second time in five years in response to apartment bombings blamed on separatists. He used tough rhetoric to help win election as president months later.