An explosion of a truck has occurred on the Kerch (Crimea) Bridge in Crimea, Russian outlet RBC reports, citing Russia’s National Anti-Terrorism Committee.
As a result, two automobile spans collapsed, and seven fuel tanks of a train caught fire.
By 10AM local time (GMT+3), the fire had been put out, Russia’s state news agency TASS reports, citing emergency services.
“Ukrainian vandals managed to reach the Crimean Bridge with their bloodied hands after all. They now have something to be proud of: in 23 years, they did not manage to build anything worth paying attention to in Crimea, but they did manage to damage the fabric of the Russian bridge,” head of Crimea’s Parliament Vladimir Konstantinov wrote in a post on his Telegram.
He added that the damages were minor and that the Kerch Bridge would be repaired promptly.
The Office of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky also commented on the explosion.
“Crimea, the bridge, the beginning. Everything illegal must be destroyed, everything stolen must be returned to Ukraine, everything occupied by Russia must be expelled,” Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to Zelensky, wrote in a tweet.
Until the repairs are finished, the commuter service with Crimea will be halted, TASS reports, citing one of the passenger companies. Representative of the Grand Service Express transportation company, which provides passenger transport services to Crimea, said that two trains, one from Moscow and one from Saint Petersburg, to Simferopol have been delayed.
Traffic on the bridge was limited, the local authorities are preparing to launch a ferry service through the Kerch Strait, Acting Minister of Transport of Crimea Nikolay Lukashenko said.
An overland transport corridor through the Russia-occupied territories of Ukraine has been established in Crimea, the local authorities report.
According to preliminary data, no one was hurt in the explosion, adviser to the head of Crimea Oleg Kryuchkov reported.
The Investigative Committee of Russia has initiated a criminal case on the explosion. Criminologists are on their way to the site.
Earlier today, an explosion occurred on the Kerch Bridge. At the time of the explosion, a goods train carrying flammable materials was passing over the bridge. It caught fire. The arches of the bridge are undamaged.
