A suicide bomber killed at least 35 and wounded dozens yesterday when he blew himself up in the packed arrivals hall of Moscow’s largest airport in an attack slammed by the Kremlin as an act of terror.
There were scenes of carnage at Domodedovo Airport in southern Moscow as corpses were stretchered out of the smoke-filled arrivals area after the blast, the latest deadly attack to hit the capital after the metro bombings in March.
Describing the attack as an act of terror, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev chaired an emergency meeting of top officials and ordered a special security regime across the country’s main airports and railway stations.
Russia’s Western partners strongly condemned the blast, with US President Barack Obama describing the attack as “outrageous” and German Chancellor Angela Merkel saying she was dismayed by the “cowardly” act.
“Today at 4.32 p.m. (1332 GMT) an explosion went off in the international arrivals hall of Domodedovo Airport,” the Russian investigative committee said in a statement.
Airport press officer Elena Galanova said the blast had gone off in a freely accessible public area of the airport where passengers meet relatives after passing customs.
At least 35 people, including two Britons, were killed, she said. At least 130 were wounded, the Health Ministry said in a statement. It said that of the wounded, 20 were in a serious condition.
“All of a sudden I heard a huge bang, as if something had fallen. No one understood what had happened,” Elena, a Lufthansa stewardess, told an AFP correspondent at the airport. “Everyone was in shock.”
Russian investigators yesterday found a head of “Arab appearance” that is presumed to have belonged to the suicide bomber responsible for setting off the blast, Interfax said.
According to preliminary information, the bomber was a resident of the overwhelmingly Muslim Northern Caucasus region, Interfax said.
“A blast went off at Domodedovo that, according to preliminary information, was an act of terror,” President Medvedev said in televised remarks. “It is necessary to introduce a special regime in all airports and transportation hubs.”
President Medvedev said the incident showed that Russia’s security regulations were not being followed properly. “What happened indicates that far from all the laws that need to be working are being used correctly,” he said.
Russian security services had received warnings that an act of terror would be carried out at one of the Moscow airports and three suspects had even been identified, the Ria Novosti news agency said.
The LifeNews.ru website said many victims had metal fragments embedded in their bodies and the explosive device was packed with bolts, nuts, nails and ball bearings.
“Burned people are running about... they are carrying pieces of flesh on stretchers,” one eyewitness, named as Andrei, told Russian City FM radio.
The blast also represented a major setback for Russia’s international image and confidence in its security as it gears up to hold two major sporting events, the Winter Olympics in 2014 and the 2018 World Cup.
Mr Medvedev has postponed his visit to the World Economic Forum in Davos, planned for this week, as a result of the blast, Kremlin press officer Natalya Timakova said.
Moscow police yesterday stepped up security across the city after the blast, Interfax quoted law enforcement officials as saying.
Domodedovo Airport is Russia’s largest airport in terms of passenger numbers and takes flights from top international companies including British Airways, Lufthansa and Swiss.
Air Malta switches airports
Today’s two Air Malta flights to and from Moscow are being re-routed to Sheremetyevo Airport instead of Domodedovo Airport. Flight KM562 will leave Malta at 7.20 a.m., arriving in Rome at 10.10 a.m. and then leave Rome at 12.10 p.m. landing at Sheremetyevo at 6 p.m. KM563 will leave Sheremetyevo at 9.10 a.m., arriving in Rome at 11 a.m., departing for Malta at midday and arriving in Malta at 1.25 p.m. Passengers may phone 2166 2211 for more information.
Russia trail of terror
The blast at Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport is the latest in a string of terrorist attacks that have dogged Russia in the years following the break-up of the Soviet empire.
In line with past atrocities, suspicion is likely to fall on separatist and Islamist groups from the troubled North Caucasus region.
Here is a timeline of deadly attacks that have killed hundreds in the Russian Federation.
June 14 to 19, 1995
Chechen rebels storm a hospital in the southern Russian city of Budyonnovsk. At least 129 hostages are seized as a result of the initial assault and a botched attempt by Russian special troops to retake the hospital.
March 19, 1999
A bomb blast at a crowded market in Vladikavkaz, North Ossetia kills 62.
September 4 to 16, 1999
A series of explosions destroys four apartment blocks in the Russian cities of Buynaksk, Moscow and Volgodonsk. In total, 293 people are killed.
May 9, 2002
An explosion during a military parade in Kaspiysk, Dagestan, kills 40 people including 19 soldiers. Dagestani militants are blamed.
October 23, 2002
Dozens of Chechen rebels storm a theatre in Moscow and take hundreds of hostages. After a three-day stand-off, Russian authorities pump an unknown gas into the theatre via the building’s ventilation system and storm it. Thirty-nine guerillas are killed alongside 129 hostages.
December 27, 2002
Suicide bombers drive three trucks into the Chechen regional government headquarters in Grozny. Around 80 people died in the attack.
December 5, 2003
A bomb rips through a commuter train near Chechnya. At least 42 people are killed in the suicide mission.
February 6, 2004
Terrorists hit an underground train in the Moscow metro. The death toll hits 39.
June 22, 2004
A coordinated assault sees rebels in Ingushetia seize the Interior Ministry and attack border police. More than 90 people are killed in the attack.
August 24, 2004
Terrorists simultaneously blow up two Russian airliners mid-flight, killing 89 people. The two suicide bombers responsible had earlier boarded the planes at Domodedovo Airport.
September 1 to 3, 2004
Chechen rebels storm a school in Beslan, taking hundreds of hostages and demanding independence. More than 300 civilians – half of them children – die as the siege ends in a bloody massacre.
August 17, 2009
A suicide bomber kills 20 people during an attack at a police station. The attack ends five years of relative quiet in terms of the troubled North Caucasus region.
November 27, 2009
Terrorists hit a train travelling from Moscow to St Petersburg. The explosion kills 26 people and leaves dozens more injured.
March 9, 2010
Female suicide bombers kill 38 people in a double attack on Moscow’s subway system. The attack is blamed on so-called Black Widows, the wives of dead Chechen rebels.
October 19, 2010
Islamic militants attempt to blow up Chechnya’s Parliament in Grozny. Six people die and 17 are injured in the attack.
January 24, 2011
At least 23 people are killed in an explosion at Domodedovo Airport in Moscow.