2023-07-17 04:57:48
At least two people were killed in an initial toll from explosions that rocked the Kerch Bridge, which connects the Russian mainland with Crimea, early Monday morning, while traffic on the bridge was halted, according to statements by Russian officials and others appointed by Russia.
In the latest details, the governor of the Russian region of Belgorod, bordering Ukraine, announced the death of two people on the Crimean Bridge.
A previous toll, reported by the Russian news agency, reported that a child was injured as a result of an “emergency” on the bridge.
Beginning of the story
Early Monday morning, the Russian-appointed governor of Crimea, Sergei Aksionov, announced on Telegram that traffic had stopped on the Russian-built bridge linking Crimea to Russia’s Krasnodar region due to an “emergency”.
Aksionov said that the emergency was related to one of the abutments of the bridge from the side located in the Krasnodar region.
He stated that all law enforcement agencies and relevant authorities are working in the place.
He added that he had spoken with the Russian Minister of Transport, Vitaly Savelyev, about the incident.
He continued, “Measures are currently being taken to restore the situation to what it was (before the accident),” according to Russian media.
He called on the people of the peninsula to refrain from traveling to the bridge and to choose alternative routes.
suffocating traffic
And the Russian agency “Tass” reported that a traffic jam with a length of 4 km had formed at one of the entrances to the bridge.
The authorities on the bridge told travelers to use alternative routes.
Explosions
The RBC-Ukraine news agency reported that explosions were heard on the bridge.
A channel affiliated with the Russian private military group “Wagner” on “Tegram” announced that there had been two strikes on the bridge.
October bombing
The bridge was subjected to a massive bombing in early October of last year, caused by a truck containing explosives, which damaged an important supply route for Russian forces in Ukraine.
Despite the damage to the bridge, limited vehicular traffic resumed about 10 hours after the explosion.
Here are key facts about the bridge:
The Crimean Bridge is 19 kilometers long across the Kerch Strait. The bridge is the only direct link between Russia’s transportation network and Crimea, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014. The bridge was a pioneering project for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who inaugurated it in a grand ceremony during which he himself drove a truck in 2018. The bridge consists of two separate roads, One by road and the other by rail. The bridge is over a point from which ships pass between the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov.
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