ST. PETERSBURG, April 3. /TASS/. About 50 people were hurt in a blast in the St. Petersburg metro system, spokesman for the city’s governor Andrei Kibitov said on Monday.

"As of this minute, about 50 people were injured. Medics are working with them. There are currently 17 ambulance teams and their number will be increasing," the spokesman said.

Russia’s National Counterterrorism Committee (NCC) has also confirmed that the blast that hit the St. Petersburg metro caused casualties and fatalities.

"Today, around 14:40 Moscow time (11:40 GMT), an unidentified device exploded in a tunnel between Tekhnologichesky Institut and Sennaya Ploshchad stations of the St. Petersburg metro. The blast caused casualties and fatalities," a NCC source said.

Head of the NCC Operations Center has dispatched personnel from the Federal Security Service, Interior Ministry and Emergencies Ministry to the blast site. "The injured are being treated, the Operations Center has been coordinated the activities of the rescue teams, security bodies and law enforcement agencies in order to prevent any possible blasts and create conditions for the investigation," the NCC source said adding that bomb-disposal experts from the FSB were examining the blast site.