A suicide bomber killed at least 35 people and injured 152 in the arrival hall of Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport, the busiest in eastern Europe, in the second major terrorist attack on the Russian capital in under a year.
President Dmitry Medvedev ordered heightened security at all of the country’s airports and train stations and delayed his departure for the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, scheduled for Tuesday, his spokeswoman Natalya Timakova said.
Russia’s Investigative Committee, which conducts criminal probes, said the blast was most likely carried out by a suicide bomber whose identity has yet to be determined. Video footage of the attack’s aftermath posted on YouTube showed bodies strewn on the floor and thick smoke in the arrival hall.
The attack was the worst in Moscow since last March, when 40 people died in twin subway bombings during the morning rush hour. Doku Umarov, a militant from the southern Russian region of Chechnya, where government forces fought two wars against separatists between 1994 and 2000, claimed responsibility.
At least 58 people were hospitalised with injuries, including 35 in serious condition, and paramedics treated 94 people at the scene, according to the Emergency Situations Ministry. Elena Galanova, an airport spokeswoman, confirmed the toll.
President Barack Obama condemned the bombing and said the US stands with Russia in the battle against terrorism. German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed her “dismay and disgust” at news of the “cowardly attack” in a message to Medvedev.
The 30-stock Micex Index closed down 1.5 percent after falling as much as 2.4 percent, its steepest intraday decline since July 30. The ruble was 0.4 percent stronger against the dollar at 29.8250 at the 5 pm close of trading. Russia’s dollar bonds due 2020 climbed, pushing the yield 5 basis points lower to 4.992 percent.
Central bank Chairman Sergey Ignatiev told reporters in Moscow that “nothing will happen to the ruble or the banking system” as a result of the attack.
Domodedovo moved a record 22.3 million passengers last year, making it the busiest air hub in eastern Europe. It services 75 airlines and handles more than 600 flights a day.
The airport’s security was breached in 2004, when terrorists bribed their way through security checks to board two passenger planes, which they subsequently brought down, killing all 90 people on board. The attacks were claimed by Islamist militants.
Monday’s attack may have been the first inside a Russian airport, said Andrei Przhezdomsky, an adviser to the Federal Security Service’s anti-terrorism committee.
“This confirms that transportation facilities, where lots of people congregate, have to be at the center of law enforcement agencies’ attention,” Przhezdomsky said by telephone. “I remember coming to Domodedovo without going through any screening at the entrance. You walk in freely. This has to change.”
The force of the blast, which occurred at 4:32 pm local time, was equivalent to 7 kilograms of TNT, state television reported.
Investigators recovered the head of a man with Arab appearance who may have been the bomber, Interfax reported, citing an unidentified law enforcement official at the scene. Three men are being sought in connection with the attack, the news service said.
Alexei Spiridonov, who works for a car rental company at the airport, said he saw the explosion. About 20 people were carried out on baggage carts, he said.
“There was a fairly loud bang, after which I saw smoke,” he said. “There was a burning smell and people began to run away.” Part of the roof collapsed, he said.
As many as 70 ambulances were deployed to the airport, which is located 40 minutes southeast of the Russian capital by express train, and the wounded were taken to nearby hospitals, state television said.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party called for the perpetrators to be “found and mercilessly punished,” party official Andrei Vorobyov said in an emailed statement.
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