Truck blast causes huge tanker fire on Russia-Crimea bridge

An explosion on the bridge linking Russia to the annexed territory of Crimea caused a part of its to collapse early on Saturday. Russia has ordered a criminal probe into a blast that blew up a truck on Kerch bridge, which is Europe’s longest. The first blast caused seven fuel tanks on a train heading towards the Crimea peninsula to catch fire, leading to a bigger blast.

Russia’s investigative committee has “initiated a criminal case in connection with the incident on the Crimean bridge” where “a truck was blown up.”

“According to preliminary information, this morning, on the automobile part of the Crimean bridge, from the side of the Taman Peninsula, a truck was blown up, which caused seven fuel tanks to ignite on a train heading towards the Crimea peninsula,” the committee said. “As a result, two lanes partially collapsed.”

How it happened

Sergey Aksenov, the head of Crimea appointed by Russia, confirmed that “two spans of the roadbed”—the stretch from Krasnodar to Kerch—had “collapsed” after a large explosion. He added that “at the same time, fuel tanks caught fire.”

Two locomotives had been sent to remove the burning train, he said. Videos and images posted on social media showed the fuel tanks on fire and, later, their charred remains and collapsed sections of the bridge in the water.

“As soon as the fire is extinguished, it will be possible to assess the extent of damage to the bridge and pillars, and it will be possible to talk about the timing of the restoration of traffic,” Aksenov said.

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Significance of the bridge

The 19-km bridge is strategically important to the Kremlin because it links Russia’s Krasnodar region with the Crimean Peninsula. President Vladimir Putin inaugurated it in 2018. Putin annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.

The bridge spans the Kerch Strait, which connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov. Key Ukrainian ports, including Mariupol, are located on the Sea of Azov. For Russia, the bridge also symbolizes the “reunification” of Crimea with the Russian mainland.

The source of the explosion is not known yet. It was also not clear immediately how many casualties the blast and fire caused.

(With agency inputs)