A massive explosion was reported on the Kerch bridge in Crimea

CNN
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A fuel tank exploded early Saturday morning on Europe’s longest bridge linking Russia to annexed Crimea, according to Russian state media and footage on social media.

Pictures of the Kerch Bridge posted on social media appear to show part of the car road and the railway bridge having fallen into the water beneath. Flames were seen burning from the railway cars above.

The tanker was located on a 19-kilometre (11-mile) bridge — which is strategically significant as it connects Russia’s Krasnodar region to Russia-annexed Crimea.

The source of the explosion is still unclear.

In an interview in August, a senior Ukrainian military commander said the Kerch bridge was a legitimate target.

“This is a necessary measure in order to deprive them (Russia) of the opportunity to provide reserves and reinforce their forces from Russian territory,” Major General Dmytro Marchenko said in an interview with RBC-Ukraine.

In a post on Telegram, the adviser to the head of the Russian administration for occupied Crimea, Oleg Krenchkov, said that work is “underway to put out the fire,” adding that “the freight arches of the bridge were not damaged.”

The Kerch bridge The official news agency RIA Novosti reported at the bridge’s opening in 2018 that the bridge is capable of handling 40,000 cars per day and transporting 14 million passengers and 13 million tons of cargo annually.

This is an evolving story. More to track.