Death toll from Moscow concert hall attack rises to 137

DPA
·1 min read
A billboard displaying a burning candle following an attack at a popular concert hall complex on Friday where assailants stormed the venue with guns and incendiary devices, killing at least 100 people and injuring hundreds. Vlad Karkov/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
A billboard displaying a burning candle following an attack at a popular concert hall complex on Friday where assailants stormed the venue with guns and incendiary devices, killing at least 100 people and injuring hundreds. Vlad Karkov/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

The death toll from the attack on the Crocus City Hall concert venue in the outskirts of Moscow has risen to 137, authorities said on Sunday according to state news agency TASS.

The state Investigative Committee had earlier put the number at 133 but said the death toll was likely to rise as emergency workers continue to search the rubble.

More than 150 people were injured when gunmen fired indiscriminately at concert-goers at the packed venue on Friday evening, with many still in critical condition, according to the authorities.

Russia observed a national day of mourning on Sunday.

The so-called Islamic State (IS) militia claimed responsibility for the attack, but neither Russian Vladimir Putin nor the authorities have so far commented on their claim.

Eyewitnesses reported the perpetrators shot indiscriminately at visitors and that they heard explosions in the building before a major fire broke out.

Eleven suspects, including four said to have been directly involved in the attack, have been arrested, according to Russian intelligence services.