At least two dead in an “emergency” on the Crimean bridge that closed traffic

At least two people were killed and a third was injured in the incident in Kerch bridgeinfrastructure that connects the peninsula Crimea with mainland Russia, which local authorities have not given further details about despite Ukrainian media suggesting it was an explosion.

The governor of Russia’s Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, confirmed that the victims were in a “damaged car” with regional registrations. There was a family in the vehicle. the parents were killed, and the minor daughter was injured and was transported to the hospital.

For his part, the governor of Crimea, Sergei Aksenov, announced that the traffic on the Kerch bridge was stopped, without giving information about the type of incident, and announced the resumption of rail and ferry traffic at 09:00 (local time). ).

“Given the current situation, I ask the residents and tourists of the peninsula to refrain from traveling over the Crimean bridge and, for security reasons, choose an alternative land route through the new regions,” said an adviser to the Crimean peninsula government, Oleg Kryuchkov, referring to the annexed Ukrainian territories. .

The authorities emphasized that Crimea has basic products such as food and fuel. They also indicated that they have opened a direct connection with the coordination headquarters for those affected by the “rush”. Vehicles waiting to cross the bridge – about a thousand cars – began to turn around, reports the Russian news agency Interfax.

This bridge was the scene of a powerful explosion in early October as part of the war with Ukraine put the infrastructure out of use for several months alleged “repair and restoration works”. The partial destruction of the Kerch Bridge was one of the most symbolic blows to Russia since the start of its military offensive in February. From the outset, Russian authorities blamed Ukrainian intelligence services for the attacks and confirmed several arrests as part of an investigation into alleged terrorism.

Putin inaugurated it in 2018, it is one of the most important infrastructure works on the peninsula since its annexation in 2014, and a symbolic and practical example of the connection of this territory with Russia. The 19-kilometer-long construction includes a railway track and a highway.