31 October 2007, 12:32
All the bus explosion casualties in Tolyatti identified
All the victims of the explosion of the passenger bus in Tolyatti have been identified. The majority of them were students of the Tolyatti State University.
In total, eight persons were lost; there are no children among them. The count of those wounded by the explosion has reached 63 persons who were hospitalized. Four more passengers are at out-patient treatment, the "Echo Moskvy" Radio reports.
The "Caucasian Knot" has already informed that the passenger bus model "MAZ-103" was blown up in Tolyatti today at 08:12 a.m. local time. A non-shell explosive with the capacity of about 2 kg of trotyl equivalent was blown up.
A criminal case has been initiated under the articles of "Terrorism", "Murder of two and more persons" and "Illegal circulation of explosives" of the Criminal Code of Russia. The investigation has several versions of the accident: a terror act committed by commanders of the militants operating in North Caucasus; a criminal showdown; and a careless explosive handling.
Nikolai Tulaev, a member of the Committee of the Council of Federation for Defence and Security, thinks that the terror act in Tolyatti passenger bus can be an attempt to affect the political situation in Russia before the elections.