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Kerch bridge fire: Blaze erupts on only bridge linking Crimea to Russia

A major fire broke out on the railway bridge between the Crimean Peninsula and Russia on Saturday night.

A fuel tank catches fire without specifying the cause, according to Russian state media.

Footage appeared to show a train on fire on the railway bridge across the Kerch Strait, with the adjacent road bridge also appearing to have sustained damage.

Crimea was annexed by Moscow in 2014, which now uses the bridge to ship military equipment to Ukraine.

An aide to the head of Crimea, quoted by Russia’s state agency Ria Novosti, said work was underway to put out the fire.

Russian state media, meanwhile, said traffic on the bridge had been halted.

The Crimean Bridge is said to be a key target of Ukrainian forces that have attacked Russian logistics.

The bridge over the Kerch Strait was opened by President Vladimir Putin in 2018, four years after Moscow illegally annexed Crimea.

The crossing is more than 100 miles from Ukrainian territory. An explosives expert told the BBC the fire was unlikely to have been caused by a missile.

“The lack of apparent blast/shrapnel damage on the road surface suggests an air-delivered weapon was not used,” he said

He said it was possible that “a well-planned attack from below could have been the cause”.

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