14 DAY TRIAL // An explosion at Moscow’s busiest airport has occurred less than two hours ago, killing at least 31 people and injuring over 100. Authorities are treating this as a terrorist attack, the New York Times
reports.
The explosion occurred at the Domodedovo airport, the largest hub for international flights in Russia. Over 20 million passengers pass through it on a yearly basis.
Because of the violence of the explosion and the fact that smoke immediately filled the arrival halls, authorities had no way of estimating the casualties.
However, where they initially said there were at least 10 dead and 10 injured, it seems that the number of victims is rising by the hour: the latest estimates indicate over 140 people were injured, some of them killed.
“Russia’s Investigative Committee said there were at least 20 casualties, without differentiating between injured and dead. The Health Ministry reported that 31 people had been killed and 130 injured, according to Ria Novosti,” the NY Times says.
“A spokeswoman from the airport said the explosion occurred in the arrivals hall. The explosion occurred at 4:32 p.m. local time, according to investigators,” the publication further informs.
Authorities have already confirmed for the national media that the explosion is being treated as a terrorist attack – and they’re now working to find out who is behind it.
“Russian news agencies, citing witnesses, said airport halls were filled with so much smoke that it was difficult to count the dead. International arrivals were being diverted to nearby, according to local news media reports,” the NY Times says.
“If investigators find the explosion was the result of terrorism, it would be the first such attack to hit Moscow since March, when two suicide bombers detonated explosives on the city’s subway during rush hour,” the same media outlet points out.
As of now, these are all the details available on the explosion at Moscow’s Domodedovo airport. Stay tuned here for more updates.