Andrey Lubensky: Act of terrorism in Odessa airport

On Wednesday, January 16, at 4:30 p.m., an explosion occured in the cafe Avion, which is situated near the international airport of Ukrainian city of Odessa. Passengers and the personnel of the airport were immediately evacuated. In half an hour after the explosion, anonymous information came that the airport’s building was also mined.

The Ukrainian Internal Ministry has informed that an explosion equivalent to about 200 grams of TNT exploded in the cafe’s toilet. There were no human victims.

The information about the bombing of the airport’s building came when passengers to an Odessa-Istanbul flight were checked-in. The people were evacuated, and the flight was postponed. Passengers of a Moscow-Odessa flight, which had just landed at the moment when the information came, were evacuated from the airfield.

In addition, as the Obozrevatel (Observer) Internet-site informed, it was also stated that an explosive device was placed in an Austrian Airlines MD-87 plane on the Odessa – Vienna route. The plane with 33 passengers and six crew members on board had to land in one of Austria’s airports for an examination.

The Interfax-Ukraine agency informs that after examining the Odessa international airport, no explosive devices were discovered. Criminal proceedings have been instituted for the cafe explosion and the anonymous information regarding the mining of the airport.

Andrey Lubensky PRAVDA.Ru Ukraine

Translated by Maria Gousseva

Read the original in Russian: http://www.pravda.ru/main/2002/01/17/35655.html