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UPI Focus: 90 dead in Moscow blast

By ANTHONY LOUIS

MOSCOW, Sept. 10 -- The death toll in Thursday's massive explosion of a nine-story apartment block in southeast Moscow rose sharply on the second day of rescue work, reaching 90 confirmed dead, as rescue teams continue to dig through the rubble in search of additional bodies. Some people are still unaccounted for, but the authorities say rescue teams appear to have found most of the bodies. At least 252 people were injured in the blast, with 46 hospitalized, listed in serious condition. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, speaking on national television after a meeting with top security officials, said a day of mourning will be declared in Russia on Monday in memory of the victims of the explosion. Investigators have still not reached a conclusion on the cause of the blast, but Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov said today, 'There is no longer doubt, but complete certainty that a terrorist act had taken place.' On Thursday evening, Luzhkov said there was evidence that a chemical called hexogen was used to destroy the building. Hexogen, a powdery substance used to make plastique and other explosives, is mainly used in military operations and work with industrial explosives. It is very volatile to any kind of disturbance, and at the same time is light and easy to transport unnoticed in large volumes. Luzhkov said the security services should investigate 'the source of hexogen and how it was transported' into Moscow. The mayor said 'the timing of the explosion is also significant.'

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Putin is more cautious, stating that investigators at the scene of Thursday's massive explosion have not yet reached a final conclusion on the cause of the blast, which could have been caused either by 'negligent storage of explosives or a terrorist action.' However, Putin said that should the final cause be determined as an act of terrorism, 'then we are facing a sly, treacherous, bloodthirsty enemy.' FSB Security Service officials have suggested a link between the blast and Chechen terrorists who may be seeking revenge for losses suffered in clashes with federal troops in the southern autonomous republic of Dagestan, where fighting has been raging for over a month following a large-scale incursion by militants from Chechnya. Earlier, a spokesman for the FSB said the explosion was caused by the detonation of a huge amount of industrial explosives or fireworks. The spokesman said the blast was the equivalent of 300 to 400 kilograms (660 to 880 pounds) of TNT exploding, but the nature of the exact material involved is still unclear. The official also said several suspects are wanted for questioning, and their identities would be released shortly as they are placed on the country's most wanted list. The security services are not ruling out the involvement of terrorists, but investigators say another possibility was the use of a basement in the building as an illegal storage facility for a huge amount of fireworks, which may have ignited. Some are suggesting that the blast was caused by an explosion of natural gas in the poorly maintained building, and that the mayor is blaming terrorists in an attempt to cover the sloppy maintenance record, but investigators are not commenting on gas as a possible cause at this time. The force of the blast, which struck after midnight Thursday, blew out windows in surrounding houses, injuring dozens of people with flying glass. Illustrating the mighty force of the explosion, Russia's NTV television network said a car parked near the building was blown upward by the force of the blast, reaching a balcony on the eighth floor and leaving a mark there before crashing back to the ground. Over 380 rescue workers are continuing their search for the bodies, with reinforcements arriving from other cities to help exhausted crews who have been sifting through the rubble for an entire day. Two sections of the building collapsed and additional parts had to be pulled down as there was danger that they may crash on rescue teams working below. Cranes and bulldozers have now moved in to shift slabs of concrete where sniffer dogs have not found any sign of life. Authorities say many of the injured were cut by flying glass as the shock wave from the explosion blew in windows in a neighboring building, slashing sleeping residents. Moscow authorities estimate that 650 people were left homeless by the explosion, with 184 apartments destroyed. The Federal Security Service, Russia's Interior Minister Vladimir Rushailo and the Moscow authorities have all suggested an act of terrorism may be the true cause of the explosion. During today's security services meeting, a possible link between three separate explosions that hit Moscow and the southern town of Buinaksk was discussed. Russia's Emergency Situations Minister Sergei Shoigu, who has dealt with several gas explosions in houses and seen the results of car bombs, said, 'This does not look like a gas explosion, the shock wave was too big.' Shoigu told Russian television some of those still unaccounted for may be away on holiday or traveling on business trips. 'Thank God if they are away on a trip or vacation,' he said. One investigator said residents didn't report the smell of gas and noted that a team is looking for signs that an explosive device could have been detonated. An anonymous caller to a local news agency claimed that the explosion was an act of revenge for the Russian attacks on Muslim rebel positions in the Northern Caucasus, and linked the blast with an earlier explosion that destroyed a building in the southern town of Buinaksk on Saturday, killing 64 people. The Buinaksk explosion was caused by the detonation of a huge bomb. There have been fears that Chechen rebels clashing with Russian troops in the southern republic of Dagestan may have followed up on their threat to launch terrorist attacks in central Russia. Moscow police and security services are still investigating an explosion that ripped through a shopping arcade in downtown Moscow, just yards from the Kremlin, on Aug. 31, killing one and leaving 40 injured. As Muscovites prepared for a possible wave of terror attacks by the Islamic militants, all police leave in Moscow was canceled and the authorities said police patrols would be reinforced, with duty extended to 12-hour shifts. The Interior Ministry says it has deployed 600 policemen around the site of the blast while investigators continue their work there. ---

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