Explosions Rock Chechen Government Building, Killing at least 46

Home>>World

Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, December 28, 2002

Explosions Rock Chechen Government Building, Killing at least 46

Two powerful explosions ripped through the Chechen administration building in the capital of Grozny on Friday, killing at least 46 people and wounding 76.

DISCUSSION

CHINESE

SEND TO FRIEND

Explosions Rock Chechen Government Building, Killing at least 46

Two powerful explosions ripped through the Chechen administration building in the capital of Grozny on Friday, killing at least 46 people and wounding 76.

Viktor Beltsov, spokesman for the Chechen Emergency Situation Ministry, said 46 people were confirmed dead in the blasts and 76 wounded, the Interfax news agency said.

Russian news agencies said rescuers had removed 30 dead bodies from under the debris and were finding fragments of other bodies as they scrabbled through the rubbles.

The explosions went off almost simultaneously at about 14:30 Moscow time (1130 GMT). About 200 people usually worked in the building, officials said.

Chechen Interior Minister Ruslan Tsakayev said two suicide bombers in a pair of trucks roared up to the government compound and blew them up.

Chechen Prosecutor Valery Kravchenko said the explosions were equivalent to one ton of TNT, and had left the government building"absolutely destroyed"

The blasts also wiped out a cafeteria and damaged several nearby buildings, including that of Chechnya's federal security service and the finance ministry, he said.

Television footage showed windows of the administration building were blown out and one of its wings destroyed. Much of the main structure was also left a shell.

A 6-meter-wide crater yawned in front of the building and a square nearby is covered with debris, with some bleeding people stumbling out of the rubbles.

Kravchenko said Chechnya's leadership was not injured in the blasts, but Interfax later quoted hospital sources as saying that the Chechen Security Council chief Rudnik Dudayev and Zina Batyzheva, a deputy Chechen prime minister, were seriously wounded.

The presidential press service said the blasts were immediatelyreported to President Vladimir Putin. Some 40 rescuers and doctorsfrom the Emergency Situation Ministry are working on the scene, Russian news agencies said.

It was the biggest Chechen rebel attack since gunmen seized a Moscow theater in October, in which 41 raiders and 129 hostages were killed.

Questions?Comments? Click here

What Is Bush's Missile Defense System Intended for? ( 8 Messages)

Russia Warns US Against Improper Approach to DPRK's Nuclear Issue ( 8 Messages)

China Set Trade Growth Goal at 7 Percent in 2003 ( 5 Messages)

'Theory of China Exporting Deflation' Doesn't Conform to Fact: Commentary ( 6 Messages)

Zhu, Schroeder to be on Maiden Trip of China's First Maglev Train ( 11 Messages)