Death Toll from Hospital Blast in Russia Rises to 35

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, August 02, 2003

Death Toll from Hospital Blast in Russia Rises to 35

At least 35 were killed in the truckblast near a military hospital Friday in southern Russian republic of North Ossetia, Russian Deputy Prosecutor-General Sergei Fridinsky said.

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At least 35 were killed in the truckblast near a military hospital Friday in southern Russian republic of North Ossetia, Russian Deputy Prosecutor-General Sergei Fridinsky said.

He said that as of 11:30 p.m. (1930 GMT) 35 dead bodies had been recovered from the hospital debris.

"Judging by the scale of the destruction and the number of people in hospital, the number of casualties will probably be much higher," he said.

According to him, there were some 150 people in the hospital when the truck exploded near a military hospital in the town of Mozdok on Friday evening.

"About 6:58 pm Moscow time, a KamAZ (heavy truck) loaded with explosives rammed through the gate of the hospital and exploded near the hospital's management building," Interfax reported, citing a hospital spokesman.

Itar-Tass reported that the hospital was almost completely destroyed. The blast created a 5-meter wide crater near the hospital.

The Rossia television, citing the North Ossetian Health Ministry, said that over 300 people were injured by the terrorist act. Many of them sustained fragmentation wounds, Rossia reported.

Interfax cited the North Caucasus Military District staff as saying that at the moment of the incident there were 135 people inthe hospital, including 100 patients, both military and civilian, and 35 medical workers.

A spokesman for the administration of Mozdok said that "the hospital has 200 beds." "But we can't say exactly how many servicemen or members of the medical personnel were inside the hospital at the moment of the explosion," he added

Itar-Tass said that some 115 people were in the hospital as theincident occurred.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was immediately informed about the explosion, offered condolences to families of the victims. He urged North Ossetia president to urgently tell Moscow what is needed to help blast victims, the Kremlin said.

He also ordered law enforcement agencies to thoroughly investigate act of the terrorist attack.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov will leave for Mozdok soon.

Mozdok is the headquarters for Russian forces fighting in Chechnya and has been targeted by attackers before.

A series of suicide attacks have occurred in Russia in recent months. Russian authorities have blamed them on rebels from Chechnya, neighboring North Ossetia, accusing them of disrupting peace process in Chechnya.

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