BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS
DATE:
11/04/2011
Deadly Blast Hits Belarus Subway, Killing 11
WATCH: RFE/RL's correspondent captured images of one fatality and other scenes from the immediate aftermath of the blast (Warning: graphic images).
A rush-hour explosion at a subway station in the center of the Belarusian capital has reportedly killed 11 people.
Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka told an emergency security meeting that around 100 people were also wounded in the explosion, which occurred during the afternoon rush hour at the Kastrychnitskaya (October Square) station, some 100 meters from the building that hosts the president's office.
The cause of the explosion was not immediately clear. But Lukashenka told the meeting, "We must find out who gained by undermining peace and stability in the country," adding that he did not rule out the blast being "a gift from abroad."
Meanwhile, Deputy Prosecutor-General Andrey Shved has described the attack as an "act of terror."
A man who gave only his first name, Henadz, told RFE/RL's Belarus Service that he was unsure whether the explosion had struck a train or the platform.
'Pillars Of Fire'
An RFE/RL correspondent who was entering the subway when she heard the explosion, Valyantsina Aksak, reported seeing fire after the explosion and the subway station being pitched into darkness.
She said she saw "corpses" and people trying to help victims whose clothes were on fire.
Source:
http://www.rferl.org/content/explosion_hits_minsk_belarus/3553950.html
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