Russia probes metro blast as ‘act of terror’

Russia opens a probe into a suspected “act of terror” after 10 people were killed and dozens more injured in a blast that rocked the Saint Petersburg metro.

Russia’s Investigative Committee says it is probing an “act of terror” but adds it will look into all other possible causes of the blast.

Blast victims lie near a subway train hit by a explosion at the Tekhnologichesky Institut subway station in St. Petersburg, Russia, on April 3, 2017. (AP/DTP&ChP St. Peterburg via AP)

Pictures screened on national television showed the door of a train carriage blown out, as bloodied bodies lay strewn on a station platform. Above ground, emergency services vehicles rushed to the scene at the Technological Institute metro station, a key transport hub in the city center.

Health minister Veronika Skvortsova said the blast had killed seven people on the spot, with three more succumbing to their injuries later. 39 people were hospitalized, including a 15-year-old girl, Skvortsova said.

— AFP