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Moscow’s landmark Ostankino TV tower goes dark in memory of St. Petersburg blast victims

The Ostankino Tower is the tallest freestanding structure in Europe

© Sergei Savostianov/TASS

MOSCOW, April 5. /TASS/. The illumination of Moscow’s landmark Ostankino TV tower was switched off at midnight in memory of the victims of Monday’s blast in St. Petersburg, the Russian TV and Radio Broadcasting Network said in a Twitter post.

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Standing 540.1 metres (1,772 feet) tall, the Ostankino Tower is the tallest freestanding structure in Europe and 11th tallest in the world.

"On Tuesday night, at 00:00 (Moscow time) the Ostankino tower switches off its illumination to mourn the victims of the St. Petersburg blast," the company said.

An explosive device of an unknown type went off at about 14:40 Moscow time Monday on a subway train in St. Petersburg. The Russian Investigative Committee described the blast as a terrorist attack, presumably carried out by a suicide bomber. According to the Russian Health Ministry’s latest casualty figures, the explosion left 14 people dead and 49 injured.

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