Putin increases security after Crimea bridge blast

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree increasing security for the Kerch Strait bridge linking Russia to Crimea after explosions rocked the bridge.

In the decree issued hours after the bridge was damaged by the blast, Putin said the FSB security service would be responsible for strengthening protection measures around the bridge.

The decree also tightened security around critical infrastructure such as the electric and natural gas supply lines to Crimea.

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Putin also ordered that an investigative commission be established to probe the explosions.

According to reports, Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin, said Russian divers are expected Sunday to examine the damage caused by a series of explosions.

Khusnullin said the divers would start work in the morning, with a more detailed survey above the waterline expected to be complete by day’s end.

“The situation is manageable – it’s unpleasant, but not fatal,” Crimea’s Russian governor, Sergei Aksyonov, told reporters.

“Of course, emotions have been triggered and there is a healthy desire to seek revenge,” he added.

Russian authorities said three people died in the early morning blasts on the bridge.

Authorities believe a truck exploded and caused seven fuel tanker cars on a 59-car train headed towards Crimea on the lower level of the bridge to go up in flames.

It took about 10 hours for vehicle traffic on the bridge to be restored and for Russia’s Transportation Ministry to give the go-ahead to restart rail traffic.

Russia seized Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and the 19-km (12-mile) Crimea Bridge linking the region to its transport network was opened with great fanfare four years later by President Vladimir Putin.

Zainab Sa’id