Crimea: Bridge linked to Russia reopens after explosion kills three

A bridge which suffered significant damage following a large explosion has reopened, Russian officials have said.

Early on Saturday morning, an explosion took place on the Kerch Bridge - a key supply for Russia’s war effort in southern Ukraine. Three people were killed from the blast on the bridge which links Russia to Crimea.

Sergei Aksyonov, head of the Russian-appointed regional administration in Crimea, said that the bridge has now reopened to traffic.

In a statement, he said: "The movement of vehicles along the Crimean bridge has begun. At the moment, traffic is open to cars and buses with a full inspection procedure.

"We ask truck drivers to plan their route using the Kerch ferry crossing. Two hours later, the Kerch-2 ferry begins to sail across the strait."

Previously, authorities said a man and a woman who were riding in a vehicle across the bridge were killed by the explosion, which they believed to have come from a lorry.

Their bodies were later recovered. Details of the third victim remain unknown.

Russia's National Anti-Terrorism Committee said that a truck bomb caused seven railway cars carrying fuel to catch fire, resulting in a "partial collapse of two sections of the bridge."

In a statement, made via Russia's state news agency, authorities said: "On the Krymsky bridge, passengers of a passenger car driving next to the exploded truck died, the bodies of a man and a woman were raised from the water.

"The investigation established the data of the truck that was blown up on the Crimean bridge, and its owner, this is a resident of the Krasnodar Territory, investigative actions have been launched at his place of residence, the Investigative Committee said.

"The route of movement of the car and documentation are also being studied."

Authorities expect to reopen the bridge later on Saturday evening, Russian officials said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin unveiled the bridge in 2018 after Crimea was annexed from Ukraine in 2014.