Saturday’s explosion on the Crimean Bridge, which connects the Russian peninsula with the Krasnodar Region, claimed the lives of three people, the country’s Investigative Committee said in a statement, citing preliminary data.
“These are, presumably, those riding in a car that was next to the blown-up truck,” the committee said.
It also revealed that the bodies of two of the victims, a man and a woman, have already been recovered from the water and their identities are being established.
According to the investigators, the explosion on the part of the bridge used by automobiles caused the ignition of seven fuel tanks of a train that was heading toward Crimea. The truck was owned by a resident of Russia’s Krasnodar Region, the committee said. A search of the owner's residence is now underway.
“The route of the car and the corresponding documentation are being studied,” the statement reads.
Earlier on Saturday, the All-Russian Union of Insurers estimated the damage caused to the bridge at 200-500 million rubles ($3.2-8 million).
Since the launch of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine in late February, various Ukrainian officials have promised to attack the Crimean Bridge, which is the only one connecting mainland Russia with Crimea. Kiev views the peninsula as its own territory that was illegally “annexed” by Russia.
Ukraine has stopped short of claiming responsibility for the explosion, but an aide to President Vladimir Zelensky, Mikhail Podoliak, warned on Twitter that what happened on Saturday was “just the beginning.”