Russia announces the closure of the bridge linking it to the Crimea peninsula “due to an emergency” that left two dead and a wounded child.

On Monday, Crimean Governor Sergei Aksenov announced this Stop traffic on the Kerch Bridgethe infrastructure connecting the peninsula with mainland Russia, due to an “emergency situation”, without giving details about it.

“Given the current situation, I ask residents of the peninsula and tourists to refrain from traveling through the Crimean bridge and, for security reasons, to choose an alternative land route through the new areas,” said the advisor to the Crimean authorities. , Oleg Kryuchkov, referring to the annexed Ukrainian lands.

The Crimean authorities confirmed that the situation caused the death of two people and the injury of a child: the first information indicates that the deceased will be the parents of the minor, who was transported by an air ambulance.

The authorities confirmed that Crimea has basic products such as food and fuel. They also indicated that they opened a direct line with the coordination headquarters for those affected by the “emergency”.

Cars waiting to cross the bridge – about a thousand – began to turn around, the Russian news agency Interfax reported.

Some Russian and Ukrainian media are talking about “explosions” on the bridge.

This bridge was the scene at the beginning of October of a strong explosion in the context of the war with Ukraine, which led to the suspension of the infrastructure for several months, under the pretext of “repair and restoration work.”

This partial destruction of the Kerch Bridge was one of the most symbolic strikes against Russia since the start of its military offensive in February. From the outset, the Russian authorities accused the Ukrainian intelligence of being behind the attack, and confirmed the arrest of several people as part of an investigation into alleged terrorism.

Inaugurated by Putin in 2018, it is one of the most important infrastructure works on the peninsula since its annexation in 2014 and a symbolic and practical example of this region’s connection to Russia. The structure, which is 19 kilometers long, includes a rail transport track and a motorway.