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Crimea and Sevastopol

What we know about latest Crimean Bridge emergency incident

It is reported that no official information about the cause of the incident is available yet

© Sergey Malgavko/TASS

MOSCOW, July 17. /TASS/. A couple was killed in an emergency incident on the Crimean Bridge early on Monday morning, with their daughter being injured. Traffic across the bridge has been suspended, Governor Sergey Aksyonov reported.

No official information about the cause of the incident is available yet. The Russian Transport Ministry said the roadway had been damaged but it did not confirm reports saying that any bridge span has been damaged.

TASS has put together highlights of the situation at the Crimean Bridge.

Circumstances of emergency incident

- An emergency situation near the 145th span of the bridge was reported by Governor Aksyonov at about 4:20 a.m. Moscow time. He didn’t specify what exactly had happened.

- Russia’s Transport Ministry said the roadway had been damaged from the Crimean side. The spans of the bridge are intact, according to the ministry.

Casualties

- A man and a woman from Russia’s borderline Belgorod Region were killed in the incident, Belgorod Region Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.

- The pair’s minor daughter was injured. Officials have said that the child has been diagnosed with a head trauma and that arrangements are being made to transport her to southern Russia’s Krasnodar Region on board an air ambulance. She is in a condition of moderate severity.

Crisis response

- Igor Mikhailichenko, deputy chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Crimea, has departed for the scene. Senior officials and investigators of the Crimean branch of Russia’s Investigative Committee have gone to the scene as well.

- An emergency crisis headquarters has been set up in the Temryuk District of the Krasnodar Region for assistance to people stuck in a 3 km traffic jam at the approaches to the bridge.

Road traffic suspended

- Drivers have been recommended to refrain from crossing the bridge, with a bypass route running across Russia’s new regions being available for them.

- A Moscow-bound train from Simferopol has departed from Kerch, the operator said. However, four more trains to Crimea and a train from the peninsula have been delayed.

- No ferry service between Crimea and the Krasnodar Region has been available since Sunday evening.

Situation in Crimea

- The Crimea governor has asked residents to stay calm and rely on verified sources for information. Officials have also urged tourists to stay at hotels wherever possible.

- Oleg Kryuchkov, an advisor to the Crimea governor, gave assurances that all necessary assistance will be given to tourists.

- The peninsula has enough supplies of fuels, food and factory goods, acting Industrial Politics Minister Yelena Elekchyan said.

- Checkpoints on the border between Crimea and the Kherson Region are operating normally.

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