Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 8 October, a truck was blown up on the Crimean bridge, which led to the fire of the fuel tanks of the train. Three people died. No one has officially claimed responsibility for what happened, but Russian parliamentarians believe that the explosion was staged by the Ukrainian special services. It was reported by TASS.

Circumstances of emergency

The incident happened around 06:00 Moscow time. The information center of the National Anti-Terrorism Committee reported that a truck was blown up on the automobile part of the bridge, which set fire to seven fuel tanks from the train that was on the railway part of the train, which was moving towards Krasnodar Territory. Now the fire is extinguished.

The head of Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, said that two spans of the automobile part of the Crimean bridge collapsed as a result of the incident. According to visual assessment, one automobile thread from Kerch to Taman is intact, he noted.

The locomotive with part of the damaged train was taken to the Kerch station.

The Investigative Committee reported three dead, the bodies of two of them - a man and a woman - have already been raised from the water. Presumably, these are passengers of a passenger car, which was next to the blown up truck.

Implications for the message

Traffic on the automobile and railway parts of the Crimean bridge is limited. The sale of tickets for buses and trains to and from the peninsula has been stopped, all trains have been canceled for the near future.

Passengers of trains who are already in the Crimea or follow it will be placed in boarding houses and hotels. We are talking about at least two trains on the peninsula and four on the mainland, while passenger trains from Crimea that have not yet been sent are expected to run on schedule.

Parking lots have been organized for drivers of cars and trucks in the Krasnodar Territory. From the Crimean side, according to the authorities, there are no queues in front of the bridge.

Shipping in the Kerch Strait was not blocked. As expected, on 8 October between the Crimea and the Krasnodar Territory, despite difficult weather conditions, at least passenger ferries will be launched.

The Ministry of Transport said that the railway part of the bridge would be restored by 20:00. The timing of the restoration of the automotive part has not yet been called.

Supply implications

The Crimean authorities stated that the peninsula is provided with a supply of fuel and food. There will be enough essential products in the republic for 55 days, gasoline and diesel fuel for 15 days.

There were reports on restriction on the sale of groceries in Crimea, but this information was denied. The decision of the authorities of Sevastopol not to sell gasoline in canisters and to limit the supply of groceries was quickly canceled.

Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov instructed to ensure control over prices for "demanded food products and fuel."

The authorities of Zaporozhye and Kherson regions said they did not expect problems with the supply of food and goods due to the state of emergency.

The Ministry of Defense assured that the supply of troops operating in the Nikolaev, Kryvyi Rih and Zaporozhye directions "is carried out continuously in full along the land corridor and partially by sea transport."

Implications for tourists

Accommodation of vacationers in sanatoriums and hotels of Crimea, whose term of stay is expiring, will be extended due to the incident, all costs will be compensated at the expense of the republic. According to the Association of Tour Operators of Russia, more than 50 thousand tourists can now be on the peninsula.

The Russian Union of Travel Industry reported that about 4,000 tourists were planning to leave Crimea in the next three to four days, and the same number were going to arrive there. Organizations do not expect critical difficulties with the departure.

Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Dmitry Chernyshenko instructed to take all necessary measures to support tourists from Russian regions currently in Crimea. The tourism business of the peninsula will also receive support, said the head of the Federal Tourism Agency Zarina Doguzova.

Rostourism recalled that organized tourists who have not yet gone to Crimea have the right to reschedule the trip or change direction. They will be able to return train tickets without additional fees.

For vacationers who went to the Crimea or are returning from it by car, food and heating points will be deployed.

Progress of the investigation

Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed to create a government commission in connection with the emergency on the Crimean bridge. He received reports from Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin, Emergencies Minister Alexander Kurenkov and Transport Ministry Vitaly Savelyev, as well as heads of law enforcement agencies.

On behalf of Putin, a government commission headed by Khusnullin was created. It, as previously reported, will also include the heads of the Krasnodar Territory and Crimea, representatives of the National Guard, the FSB and the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The SC opened a case on the fact of the incident. Under what article, the department has not yet specified.

The owner of the blown up truck has been identified; he is a resident of the Krasnodar Territory. Investigations are underway at his place of residence.

The prosecutor’s office of the Crimea took the course of clarifying the circumstances of the incident under special control. The prosecutor of the republic Oleg Kamshilov arrived at the bridge.

Reaction

The adviser to the head of Crimea drew attention to the large number of fakes on the Internet in connection with the incident and asked to use only official information.

He also recalled that a land transport corridor has been established from Crimea to other regions of Russia, which passes through new regions.

Speaker of the State Council of Crimea Vladimir Konstantinov accused Ukraine of what happened. He assured that the damage to the Crimean bridge would be promptly restored.

Crimean Federation Council member Olga Kovitidi, in an interview with TASS, called for strengthening "public security" and understanding the circumstances of the state of emergency "seriously and thoughtfully, without hasty conclusions."

The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, commenting on the reaction of officials and departments of Ukraine to the incident, said that the incident testifies the "terrorist essence" of the Kyiv authorities.

Leonid Slutsky, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party and head of the State Duma committee on international affairs, believes that the response to the explosion should be tough, "but not necessarily head-on."

Viktor Vodolatsky, First Deputy Chairman of the Russian State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots, urged to look into the issues of ensuring the security of the Crimean bridge.

What happened on the Crimean bridge requires the adoption of bold, smart and very responsible decisions, said the leader of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation Gennady Zyuganov.

The head of the Just Russia - For Truth faction in the State Duma, Sergei Mironov, believes that the Russian Federation should give a tough answer to Kyiv for the emergency on the Crimean bridge.

Tatyana Moskalkova, Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation, noted that the deliberate damage to the Crimean bridge is an encroachment on the rights of the population of Crimea.

Konstantin Bakharev, First Deputy Head of the State Duma Committee on the Financial Market, believes that the emergency on the Crimean Bridge will not lead to panic in Crimea, since the inhabitants of the peninsula have extensive experience in overcoming emergencies.

First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Security and Anti-Corruption Yuri Afonin said that the SBU blew up the bridge to create problems for the transfer of the Russian Armed Forces to the border.

Senator from the Republic of Crimea Ekaterina Altabaeva expressed the opinion that the explosion was carried out to disrupt the supply of new Russian regions and Russian military personnel participating in a special military operation.