A powerful explosion in Minsk in the course of a festive concert

At around twenty minutes past midnight, an hour after fireworks and performance of the national anthem, an explosion went off near the Stella Monument in the centre of Minsk. At that moment a concert was taking place there in order to celebrate the Independence Day of Belarus, the concert was not suspended and the majority of the concertgoers could not realize what was going on. Zmiter, an eye-witness of the events recalls.

Zmiter: I was within around 200 metres from the epicenter of the explosion. Some time between the midnight and half past midnight I heard a powerful blast. It was similar to the volleys of the fireworks therefore no one paid any attention to it except those who were in the direct vicinity. Within a minute there were 2-3 ambulances near that place and more came several minutes later. I walked towards that place and saw people being laid down by the ambulances, some of the ambulances were already leaving with the injured. People had injured and bandaged arms and legs. Some were filming it with their mobile phones… There was smoke, all the crowd was covered with smoke that was how I felt something bad happened. However the blast didn’t affect the concert, the latter was still ongoing. The place was crowded with people…

It is worth mentioning that the concert has not been stopped. Overall it gathered around 200 thousand people. The Militia made a decision not to stop the concert to avoid panic and mass crushes in the crowd.

The official information confirmed that several dozens of people were injured as a result of the blast. Some were provided with medical assistance at the scene and they went home by themselves.

Around 50 persons were hospitalized. Doctors said that the injured were brought in starting from the half past midnight to four in the morning. According to the unofficial information, one of the injured went through a seven hour surgery in the Hospital No 6. The Militia is present in all the hospitals where the injured were delivered. Doctors say that the majority of people had missile leg wounds. The Internet is now filling up with testimonies of people who were by the Stella that night. Someone wrote he saw a guy who had lost his arm and another person wrote that girl’s toes were torn off. Everyone agrees there was lots of blood.

At the moment experts from all special services are holding an investigating at the scene. The preliminary theory regarding the cause of the accident is a handmade explosive, filled with nuts and screws. The Militia is investigating the matter and defines the qualification of the crime, whether it is a terrorist attack or an act of ‘hooliganism’.

It is remarkable that the President Aleksandr Lukashenko was present at the concert among the concertgoers all night and immediately after the explosion visited the crime scene and ordered to look into the matter as soon as possible and to reveal all the circumstances.

The Militia says that many people saw a dark-skin man placing a bag under a fur-tree. The Militia does not exclude the possibility that the man who brought the explosive could be among the injured.

Just a few hours ago the Minister of Interior of Belarus, Vladimir Naumov, announced that a second unexploded explosive was found near the scene. Legal proceedings under the article ‘hooliganism’ were instituted.