Suicide Bombing at Moscow Airport Kills at Least 35

By Ekaterina Shatalova and Lyubov Pronina

A file photo of travelers at Moscow's Domodedovo Airport. Photographer: Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP/Getty Images

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Jan. 24 (Bloomberg) -- A suicide bomber killed at least 31 people in the international baggage claim area of Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport, Russia’s largest. About 130 more people were wounded in the attack, which occurred at about 4:32 p.m. local time, Health Ministry spokeswoman Sofya Malyavina said. Bloomberg's Melissa Long reports. (Source: Bloomberg)

Domodedovo airport. Source: Ria Novosti

A terrorist bombing killed at least 35 people in the arrival hall of Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport, the deadliest attack on the Russian capital in almost a year.

President Dmitry Medvedev said law enforcement agencies were investigating the bombing as a terrorist attack and ordered heightened security at all of the country’s airports and train stations. The president delayed his departure for the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, scheduled for tomorrow, his spokeswoman Natalya Timakova said.

State television channel Rossiya 24 and news agencies reported that the bomb may have been detonated by a suicide bomber, citing unidentified officials. Russia’s Investigative Committee said it couldn’t confirm the report when contacted by Bloomberg News. Video footage of the attack’s aftermath posted on YouTube showed bodies strewn on the floor and thick smoke in the arrival hall.

The attack was the worst in Moscow since last March, when 40 people died in twin subway bombings during the morning rush hour. Doku Umarov, a militant from the southern Russian region of Chechnya, where government forces fought two wars against separatists between 1994 and 2000, claimed responsibility.

Stocks React

The 30-stock Micex Index closed down 1.5 percent after falling as much as 2.4 percent, its steepest intraday decline since July 30. The ruble was 0.4 percent stronger against the dollar at 29.8250 at the 5 p.m. close of trading. Russia’s dollar bonds due 2020 climbed, pushing the yield 5 basis points lower to 4.992 percent.

Central bank Chairman Sergey Ignatiev told reporters in Moscow that “nothing will happen to the ruble or the banking system” as a result of the attack.

Domodedovo moved a record 22.3 million passengers last year, making it the busiest air hub in eastern Europe. It services 75 airlines and handles more than 600 flights a day. Deutsche Lufthansa AG was among airlines that cancelled flights in and out of Domodedovo indefinitely.

The airport’s security was breached in 2004, when terrorists bribed their way through security checks to board two passenger planes, which they subsequently brought down, killing all 90 people on board. The attacks were claimed by Islamist militants.

‘Barbaric Act’

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said he learned “with consternation” of the attack. “I condemn this cruel bloody deed in the strongest terms,” Westerwelle said in an e- mailed statement. “This barbaric act is in no way justifiable.”

The force of the blast, which occurred at 4:32 p.m. local time, was equivalent to 7 kilograms of TNT (15 pounds), state television reported.

Alexei Spiridonov, who works for a car rental company at the airport, said he saw the explosion. About 20 people were carried out on baggage carts, he said.

“There was a fairly loud bang, after which I saw smoke,” he said. “There was a burning smell and people began to run away.” Part of the roof collapsed, he said.

As many as 70 ambulances were deployed to the airport, which is located 40 minutes southeast of the Russian capital by express train, and the wounded were taken to nearby hospitals, state television said.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party called for the perpetrators to be “found and mercilessly punished,” party official Andrei Vorobyov said in an e-mailed statement.