Crimean Bridge Hit by Explosion, Erupts in Flames as Heavy Damage Seen

The only bridge that links the occupied Crimean peninsula with Russia has been hit by an explosion as dramatic footage of a train engulfed in flames emerged on social media.

Images show a fire erupting on at least two carriages of a train on the Kerch bridge alongside collapsed road sections.

At least three people have been killed, Russia's Investigative Committee said on Saturday.

Witnesses said the explosion took place around 6 a.m. local time on Saturday and said it could be heard from miles away. A column of black smoke billowed from the bridge and one half of the parallel road bridge collapsed in the Kerch Strait.

Russia's National Anti-Terrorism Committee (NAC) said that a truck was blown up on the bridge from the side of the Taman Peninsula "which caused the ignition of seven fuel tanks of a railway train heading towards the Crimean peninsula," RIA Novosti reported.

Oleg Kryuchkov, adviser to the head of Crimea said that there did not appear to be any casualties, news agency Tass reported.

One explosives expert told the BBC the lack of blast and fragmentation damage on the road surface suggested the fire was probably not caused by a missile and perhaps "a well-planned attack from below may have been the cause".

For Ukrainians, the crossing opened in 2018 is a hated symbol of Russia's annexation of the Crimean peninsula and is a key supply route for Vladimir Putin's troops.

Kyiv has not claimed responsibility for the incident but Ukrainian presidential advisor Mikhailo Podolyak tweeted an image of the flames and said: "Crimea, the bridge, the beginning. Everything illegal must be destroyed, everything stolen must be returned to Ukraine, everything occupied by Russia must be expelled."

Ukrainian internal affairs adviser, Anton Gerashchenko tweeted a video of a man on the phone. "'I'll be late, the bridge is burning' says the voice on the video," he wrote.

Kyiv has been accused of previous attacks in Crimea which include explosions at the Saki airbase, explosions at an ammunition dump, and multiple alleged drone attacks on Sevastopol.

Russian officials have blamed Kyiv for the latest incident, with the speaker of the State Council of Crimea Vladimir Konstantinov saying it was caused by "Ukrainian vandals" while insistent that the damage to the bridge would be repaired quickly.

Russia's Investigative Committee, which looks into major incidents, said it had opened a criminal case into the fire and were "establishing all the circumstances of the incident and the persons involved in the crime."

Vladimir Putin has set up a government commission over the incident, news outlet Vesti reported.

Newsweek has contacted the Ukrainian foreign ministry for comment.

Update 10/08/22, 4:15 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with a further information.