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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, February 06, 2004

Explosion hits the Moscow metro, at least 40 killed

An explosion occurred during the morning rush hour Friday aboard a subway train in the capital, killing at least 40 and injuring about 100 others, authorities said.


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Explosion hits the Moscow metro
An explosion occurred during the morning rush hour Friday aboard a subway train in the capital, killing at least 40 and injuring about 100 others, authorities said.

The blast took place around 8:40 a.m. Moscow time (0540 GMT), at the height of the rush hour traffic, Russian Emergencies Ministry was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency. The train was then moving from the key metro station of Paveletskaya near the city center to Avtozavodskaya.

The blast, in the second wagon of the train, caused a serious fire in the underground train and badly damaged the carriage. Thick smoke came from the tunnel and the passengers are being evacuated from Avtozavodskaya station, outside which there are numerous ambulances.

The cause of the incident is being investigated. There are media reports that quoted police as saying the blast was possibly caused by suicide bomber linked with the Chechen rebels. There is no official confirmation of the report, though authorities do not rule out the blast was a terrorist attack.

Interfax news agency quoted a police source as saying that first interviews with evacuated passengers led to the conclusion that the blast may have been a "terrorist act."

Russian President Vladimir Putin was immediately informed. The Russian capital has been on alert for terrorist attacks following a series of suicide bombings that officials have blamed on Chechen rebels.

In December, a female suicide bomber blew herself up outside the National Hotel across from Moscow's Red Square on Tuesday, killing at least five others.

Two suicide bombers blew themselves up at a Moscow rock concert in July, killing themselves and 14 other people. That was followed five days later by an aborted suicide bomb attack at a central Moscow restaurant that killed the sapper trying to defuse the bomb.

The suicide bomber was arrested and is currently awaiting trial.

In August 2000, a bomb exploded at a crowded pedestrian underpass filled with kiosks at Pushkin Square, a popular meeting place located near a metro line.


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