Death toll in Chechen Blasts Rises to 55

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Sunday, December 29, 2002

Death toll in Chechen Blasts Rises to 55

The death toll in Friday's twin explosions that destroyed the Chechen government building has risen to 55, as rescue workers were combing through the rubble looking for more survivors.

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The death toll in Friday's twin explosions that destroyed the Chechen government building has risen to 55, as rescue workers were combing through the rubble looking for more survivors.

The Russian Emergency Situations Ministry said Saturday that atleast 55 people were confirmed dead and 123 others wounded in the blasts. Fourteen people had died in hospitals, and many others were seriously injured.

The explosions went off almost simultaneously at about 2:30 p.m.Moscow time (1130 GMT) Friday. About 200 people usually worked in the building, officials said.

Suicide bombers in a pair of trucks roared up to the heavily guarded government compound and blew them up. The explosions, which were equivalent to one ton of TNT, not only wrecked the headquarters but also wiped out a cafeteria and damaged several nearby buildings, including that of Chechnya's federal security service and the finance ministry.

Some 250 rescuers were working at the blast site and two mobilehospitals have been set up at the scene, officials from the Chechen Emergency Ministry said.

A plane carrying medics, emergency officials, and several tons of food and medicines landed at the Russian military base at Mozdok near Chechnya on Saturday morning, Russian news agencies reported.

It was the biggest Chechen rebel attack since gunmen seized a Moscow theater in October, in which 41 raiders and 129 hostages died.

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