On 29th March, 2010, two terror attacks struck the veins of Moscow - the Moscow Metro!! :-(
Two suicide bombers carried out these deadly bombings inside the Metro cars at the Lubyanka and Park Kultury metro stations, killing 39 people!!
It was about 10.15 AM IST on the 29th, when a friend came to my desk to convey this sad news!! Working for a Russian Client, my thoughts immediately went towards the people who must have been traveling on those trains!!
Moscow Metro is one of the largest and most used subway system in the world!!
Approximately 6 million people use the Metro daily!! It is the cheapest and the most convenient rapid transit system in Moscow, which is a very large city, to say the least!!
I have been a regular traveler on the Moscow Metro (having stayed in Moscow for almost 9 months). And believe me, it is very very crowded during the morning rush hours, with hardly a place to stand in the carriage!!
And with the bombings being carried out during the morning rush hour, I thought the scale of disaster and devastation might be much higher!!
What made me all the more sad is that the second bombing took place at the Park Kultury Metro. This was the place where I got down and boarded the train, with my workplace just 5 minutes away from the Metro!!
Check this news article to read and see the horrific events on this day!!
These comments show the deep fear in the mind's of the people on that day -
"How horrible it is when you hear a blast behind your back. I was at Park Kultury at the moment of the blast. Thank God, I managed to enter the walkway tunnel between stations and I was not affected. There was lots of smoke and I could not figure out what was going on. Many people were lying in blood."
And this comment by one commuter highlights how such similar events have had a deep impact on his psyche!!
“I’ve seen loads of explosions in my time, and this was nothing. I’m fine. It was just a ‘pop’ like the kind if fire crackers we might let off at New Year.” He added that the reaction to the explosion was very calm.
Having a look at the videos, the reaction might have been calm for him - but certainly not for others!!
Check this YouTube Video link about the Moscow Metro!!
It highlights the sheer complexity and wide usage of this metro system!!
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