Blasts, destruction reported on Kerch Bridge

Around 04:00 a.m., July 17, 2023, a span of the Kerch Strait Bridge (also called the Crimean Bridge) reportedly collapsed.

According to Russia’s information resource Baza, traffic on the bridge was halted, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

The so-called ‘governor’ of Crimea Sergei Aksyonov mentioned that the emergence had occurred “around the 145th pillar”. Russian law enforcement officers are working at the scene.

At least two people were reported killed and one injured.

According to Ukraine’s Telegram channel monitor, an explosion occurred in one of spans of the bridge, and traffic was stopped. The scale of the damage caused is yet to be checked. Following that, an air raid alert rang out in Kerch. Later, they added that at least one span had been destroyed and the other damaged.

BBC News Russia noted that local residents had heard two blasts in Kerch at 03:04 a.m. and 03:20 a.m. (local time). Drivers on the bridge were turned around and sent to a safe distance.