Bomb kills as many as 31 at Moscow airport
By Will Englund
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, January 24, 2011; 10:39 AM
MOSCOW - An explosion at Domodedovo Airport, on the southeast outskirts of Moscow, killed up to 31 people Monday afternoon in what appears to be a terror attack.
At least several dozen were injured, according to reports, and probably far more. The Interfax agency cited the health ministry as saying that 130 were hurt. Twenty were reported to be in critical condition.
Officials have called a "high terror alert" at Moscow's two other major airports and the metro system, and there is heightened security throughout the city.
The explosion, which apparently took place near a cafe outside the international arrivals area, occurred at 4:37 p.m. local time, according to the Russian Air Transport Agency. Planes from Dusseldorf, Germany, and Odessa, Ukraine, had landed in the previous half-hour. Just before the blast, a plane from London arrived.
Domodedovo is Russia's biggest and busiest airport and is used by United, Lufthansa, Austrian Air, British Airways and the Russian airline Transaero, among others. It is also a hub for domestic travel. The United flight, from Washington, was not flying Monday.
Police said they believed that about 15 pounds of explosives had been used. Cellphone jamming devices were activated at the airport to try to prevent more potential bombs from being detonated.
Interfax reported that police are seeking three men in connection with the bombing but did not provide details. The Associated Press reported that a suicide bomber was responsible.
Fifty ambulances were dispatched to Domodedovo, reports said.
ad_icon
Russia has had a history of bomb attacks on planes and, last March, in Moscow's metro, but this was apparently the first fatal explosion at an airport.
By early evening, flights were being diverted to Vnukovo and Sheremetyevo airports.
Moscow airport blast kills as many as 31