Ten dead in St. Petersburg Metro Station blast in Russia; hunt on for 'man with beard and black hat'

Pic courtesy: Twitter/GMA

Moscow: At least ten people were killed and several others injured when an explosion tore through a train carriage in a St. Petersburg metro tunnel on Monday in what authorities called a 'suspected terrorist attack.'

Russian news media reported that police were searching for a man recorded on surveillance cameras who was thought to have been involved in the attack, which coincided with a visit to the city by President Vladimir Putin.

A grainy photograph published by the Fontanka news outlet showed a middle aged man with beard and black hat. 

Interfax news agency cited unnamed sources as saying the bomb, packed with shrapnel, may have been hidden in a train carriage inside a briefcase.

Russia`s National Anti-Terrorist Committee said an explosive device had been found at a different metro station, hidden under a fire extinguisher, but had been made safe.

The Investigative Committee, a state body which investigates major crimes, also opened a criminal case on charges of terrorism.

Russian media had earlier claimed that two explosions took place in a train carriage between two metro stations in the Russian city of Saint Petersburg on Monday. 

The blasts reportedly took place in quick successions around 2.40 pm local time on the blue line of the underground system.

Soon after the blast happened, ambulances and fire engines descended on the concrete-and-glass Sennaya Ploshchad metro station as a helicopter hovered overhead.

"I appeal to you citizens of St. Petersburg and guests of our city to be alert, attentive and cautious and to behave in a responsible matter in light of events," St Petersburg Governor Georgy Poltavchenko said in an address.

The blast raised security fears beyond Russian frontiers. France, which has itself suffered a series of attacks, announced additional security measures in Paris.

Video from the scene of Monday`s blast showed injured people lying bleeding on a platform, some being treated by emergency services and fellow passengers. Others ran away from the platform amid clouds of smoke, some screaming or holding their hands to their faces.

A huge hole was blown open in the side of a carriage with metal wreckage strewn across the platform. Passengers were seen hammering at the windows of one closed carriage. 

Russian TV said many had suffered lacerations from glass shards and metal, the force of the explosion maximised by the confines of the carriage and the tunnel.

Russia Vows 'Tough Response' To Blast

The explosions took place at a time when Russian President Vladimir Putin was in the city to hold talks with President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko.

Russian news agencies quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying that Russian President Vladimir Putin had been informed about the explosion. 

Meanwhile, President Putin offered condolences to the families of those killed in St. Petersburg subway explosions, the Russian media said.

Russian authorities said that President Putin is considering all possibilities including terrorism.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also expressed deep sadness over the loss of lives in the blasts at St. Petersburg metro.

"Deeply saddened by the loss of lives in the blasts at St. Petersburg metro. Heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims," he had tweeted.

Deeply saddened by the loss of lives in the blasts at St. Petersburg metro. Heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims. — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 3, 2017

All Metro Stations Closed 

Russian authorities closed all St. Petersburg metro stations. The Moscow Metro said it was taking unspecified additional security measures in case of an attack there. 

Russia has been the target in the past of numerous bomb attacks, frequently targeting public transport. 

Most were blamed on Islamist rebels from Russia`s North Caucasus region. 

The rebellion there has been largely crushed, but security experts say Russia`s military intervention in Syria has made Russia a potential target for Islamic State attacks. 

At least 38 people were killed in 2010 when two female suicide bombers detonated bombs on packed Moscow metro trains.

Over 330 people, half of them children, were killed in 2004 when police stormed a school in southern Russia after a hostage taking by Islamist militants. In 2002, 120 hostages were killed when police stormed a Moscow theatre to end another hostage-taking.

As Prime Minister, Putin had launched a 1999 campaign to crush a separatist government in the Muslim southern region of Chechnya, and as president continued a hard line in suppressing rebellion.