he's been described he was in the canteen at the time she said the children. were coming in. and we then heard an explosion and she said that people with guns started to run out of bathrooms they had masks on their faces it was impossible to see what nationalities they were this is a quote that was coming from sorry one of the students who was in the canteen at the time she says the missing many of them and i can't say exactly how many they shot at students and teaches anyone who got in their way. yes what we understand that the russian president vladimir putin is soon going to be making a statement he was very quick indeed a couple of hours ago to offer his sincere condolences but let's discuss some more of the security implications here john vause now a security expert joining us live here on international law john thanks for jumping on the program with us the investigative committee saying that this act it is an act of terror it is kind of as such what are your initial thoughts please. well we had a great deal of this kind you see here in the former yugoslavia and this

is usually kind of a. precursor to a. year or attacks now in the case of. the serbian. province the so-called terrorist organization that region which was went by the name of the classical liberation army actually it was the organization the united states decided to arm and back later on so we use the expression jurists very loosely but we know that recent history has shown. great number of the so-called terrorist organizations are just seat so answered actors and it says this is an attack on crimea in this case it would. automatically lead me to question. possible involvement by american secret services by the

regime. and perhaps even you know you have to consider every possibility there could even be a saudi arabian involvement in this cd track to tension from the recent killing of the saudi dissident apparently and say in a saudi diplomatic off i mean we still don't know exactly what is happening albeit there will be a lot of speculation but the regard to what's happening right now we understand a manhunt is underway just pointed you had difficult will it be to try silty catch those responsible bats given the geographical location of crimea and the fact it is an isolated of land mass to. say that we have to take you consideration lately who the perpetrators were considered extendable and it's highly unlikely that any of them will be captured

a lot if that is the case if the perpetrators are identified then there's a good possibility that they could be drawn could have been drawn in from other regions where they were from a low level insurgencies or terror driven insurgencies against the russian state that will have to wait until at least some body. of the members of the attack a group is identified and using the identification of that body that did body then there might be an opportunity truce back the membership or alliances or involvement of that person right now john to continue operating breaking news coverage here at alatri international we understand that three days of mourning has been announced now that of course will be on a national scale three days of mourning for today's tragedy in coach crimea we are standing by here on our team to. national the russian president vladimir putin is

slated to go live at any moment with his comments on this act of terror in crimea it was or it was almost two hours ago the russian president was offering his sincerest condolences to those affected john vause in which we understand at least ten killed in this attack mostly students as far as we understand a blast and possibly gunmen as well john it sounds like a cool water nato it level of attack. absolutely when you've got most both perpetrators evolved and where you got a soft target in particular the purpose here is to really create terror among the civilian population we're not talking about a military object we're not talking about a lease piece or a military solution police station or military base we're talking about. a youth and the primary objective of this kind of an attack uses so care or a moment population to d.c.

to close a situation you know sure that president clinton is going to address that issue and i trust he's going to bring some very very serious information to late in the very near future these kind of cities do not jests have been coordinated on a broad scale even on an international scale. measures you think will be put in place now i john from what you just said this is submission nearly you said it could be a pretext to further terror attacks today what sort of measures can be taken to try and prevent that from happening. they were just lost a thing we just lost john there maybe we've got the line back john can you hear us . ok just one question i had there was what kind of message do you think special services of the russian government can put in place now to try and prevent

potential a potential further escalation of terror attacks if in case that's what's happened in crimea he said this could actually be a pretext for further or a precursor of a third or attacks what sort of measures do you think the government might and could take. a look we do see that the russian authorities. do to the fact that the. overwhelming majority of citizens of crimea are exceeds to be part of russia here we had a referendum in crimea where well over ninety percent voted to join russia so first of all the attackers are do mystically base class is huge a visible minority and musical minorities already very mostly known to the authorities and so there will be around that. oh the suspect individuals secondly the entry and exit to crimea is very strictly controlled by land or by bridge or by

air and so there is no easy way out i would say that there's going to be a general lockdown but i think that this is the civil population of crimea is going to be of great service to the authorities you know define any on national activities or abnormal presences of unknown people any area i don't think that that they will have a very big chance of getting away and i think this would be what we would call a suicide mission suicide missions are now generally understood it to very often be the access of intelligence agencies so we need to just see what the what the intelligence community comes up with here because as we know telephone service into radios in this into and there probably will be some data forthcoming roache at this hour john vause national security expert here at rising house and offering insight on this breaking news coverage on this tragedy this act of terror

in kutch crimea john thank you for your time to. identify the irrational presidential spokesman dmitri peskov has made a comment on the. information about the number of casualties is being handled the president offers his deep condolences to those who lost their relatives the president has ordered the emergency services to undertake urging actions to assure the urgent transportation of the injured to the country's best hospitals the president has ordered the security services to undertake measures to stablish the cause of the incident where waiting for that information to her to em. obviously it's a days yet here when our international is the investigation that is underway trying to it's a state of law it's a security situation it was interesting and because our guests are john bolton is richard saying a moment ago it's not easy to get in and out of crimea this is a quite isolated land mass with two major bridges going in and out the northern

bridge the eastern bridge as well you would imagine that the manhunt that is reportedly underway should be in some way quite effective if you would imagine they've locked down the bridges here scanning all mobile phone signals as well so so let's let's get some more insight on this now and join until clocker security expert joining us here on the international during this breaking news that we continue here neal good to see you today sorry it's on a day of such tragic news indeed the investigation is underway the russian president is poised to address the public three days of national mourning has been announced what's your initial thoughts when you heard this news coming from this this blast possible gunshots as well students being gunned down your initial thoughts neal what it's absolutely appalling is my first thoughts are with the victims and their families how appalling it is false you didn't young people to be gotten into the cafeteria and their lunch and then be murdered like this is absolutely appalling when the news first came out it was being reported as

a gas explosion even then i thought well is it really a gas explosion we don't know and now it seems to be that it was a terrorist attack. of course it could still be possible that the person involved in this the perpetrator may have be someone with personal motives he may have been a disgruntled skewed knees kind of things are going to happen in the u.s. quite a lot. of a student going in there and killing classmates etc so we can't rule that out however we have to put it in some kind of context and see in the political context of this we've seen a number of assassinations don't bask in. separatist leader is the most recent one you know in august we've seen. and also let's remember back in april i think it was we actually had a column in the washington examiner newspaper columnist tom rogan actually called for the crimean bridge which is very close to coach actually links into a russian may not actually call for that to be bombed by the u. ukrainian air force and that was obviously calling for marlon's and some would

argue terrorism kind of backtracked and said that he wants to see any civilian casualties if a bridge passenger breach could be could be but without casualties so we've got to put this in the context or just want is is that there are you know there has been a lot of violence against separatists bass there have been calls for crimea to be bombed from the west and so while we cannot say for definite that there is a political purpose to this then i think it's. likely that there is a need to sound the farmer here good afternoon is it a surprise that this is happened you think just i just say that because there's always been a security risk in crimea people always being concerned about potential risks the fact that this is happened and appears to be in such a coordinated attack is that should we be surprised by that in any way. as i said we can't completely rule out the idea of not it's not being political this could be

someone with issues and getting people to go but it seems unlikely now and what we've heard about the coordination that seems unlikely that he's going so to speak but you know the background i mean i was in crimea myself earlier this year it's a province to province of russia that is the peace but of course the very fact that i mean people voted to return to russia in twenty four team as being a super city opposed by the west and by the very themselves so there is this context to it i mean i was that i was actually chairing the conference meeting and i noticed on twitter there were ukrainian nationalists. going tension to the meeting and trying to make out the people there did a great crime and you have to be worried for security to be very worried given the kind of rhetoric that's come out of it and a very very aggressive action so i think that we have to feel it's already or in the context and one hopes one hopes. to be found.

out he's on the sudanese also and then we can obviously terry get him and find out exactly what was behind this if indeed neal as you say it's one gunman the lone gunman or if it's even more than one as we've been getting conflicting reports from the eyewitnesses that some people reporting gunmen coming out of the bathrooms or toilets in the county and after the explosion happened in the canteen neal we can update we can update that death toll already it's coming fast and quickly here at all the international today death toll now raising from ten to thirteen the investigative committee confirming that so thirteen now have perished in this act of terror at a technical university in coach in eastern crimea obviously it's early days yet you know it's all speculation when it comes to could have been a disgruntled student could have been some other some like to say but the reports that came in from the eyewitnesses that these men were wearing mosques. or that their faces were concealed they had

a reason according to them apparently so hide their identities now in america when you do have quite a numerous amount of school shootings every year in america it's rare it's seldom the the people goes into the school with his face covered he's hiding his identity it's almost like in america when it happens when there was a school shooting the student almost is quite ok to show his face but here we have something quite different mosque gunman throwing dynamite and shooting students it's a different level neal and it isn't anything. that he just said there is eyewitness reports that he that mosque gunmen then of course i think we can strongly rule out . which would when i first heard about the reports of one man that of course that would be a logical explanation that there was somebody who was disturbed in. the school the students but i think quite clearly now if those reports in iraq that we're talking about a organized terrorist incident a terrorist attack and there are of course no no shortage of culprits as potential

culprits as your previous speaker was saying there are a lot of enemies of crimea i'm afraid the enemies of russia around and the name of this we've got to ask ourselves what the aim of this is because if it was indeed a terrorist attack it seems very likely now then most ninety nine out of the people we have to call that a student colleague was targeted in this way not that any other attack say on a military installation would be wrong but these obviously were civilians that were targeted so there is a danger of a backlash against this obviously on the perpetrators if you so what they're looking to achieve or clearly they want to spread terror in crimea to make everybody feel that this could happen to their in the school all in university anywhere so i think it's so important now that it's perfect rate is arrested a soon as possible as thing is already investigated we can find out who was behind this because it was the case that there were a number of gunmen in clearly this just you know the one point two bomb of larger

actors whether it's state taxes or intelligence services then that would lead to the kind of likelihood a greater. politically if that is the case what could be the ramifications. massive massive i mean if this were to be proven in if we do find out that this was indeed the work of a state agency then the repercussions have to be a massive us and it because this is the group will murder mass murder of civilians in russia and no state no state can allow this to happen of course this. the key point proving a state when the state intelligence service is really very difficult because if this was an operation they say this was a state. by state hostile to russia then of course they won't be fingerprints on it they have the guys acting. you know seen as independent as possible and they will

try to make sure there were no visible links with the trace etc so it's going to be much harder these things are much harder to prove there won't be a case of the guys catching he says yes ok this stuff told me to do it a lot. so i think that it would be very very hard to prove that it worked to be proven then repercussions will be massive it's got to be massive because no state can allow this kind of thing to happen in its own territory against its own civilians or proxy curity expert joining us here on r.t. international for the rolling breaking news coverage a terrorist act in crimea in the small part town of cochin a techno college we understand at least thirteen students now killed mill clark thanks for coming on today we'll see you soon thank you very much. so idea russia's investigative committee calling the explosion a terrorist act according to the explosion did happen in the colleges can teen understand the device works with metal objects i suppose that would be for the

effect of shrapnel. we also know about fifteen people still reported missing officials say they are not under the rubble unclear where they could we had heard earlier today that the whole building had been evacuated perhaps it's a potential that some of those are safe we are unsure at the moment. the death tally unfortunately has gone up it was first reported the ten people people have been killed up to thirteen and we know that fifty people have been injured it was a what this year just over one thousand students are currently studying at the college with seventy three members of staff working there as well the idea and if we understand that the college it's not a new one it was a what constructed in the nineteenth thirty's it's reportedly one of the oldest colleges in the city of carthage sure an important college to over four hundred students i think certainly next year it used to graduate. there and that perhaps

would give you an idea of the numbers of people students that couldn't be there today most of the students seem to teenagers to the fact that's coming is the that's right i've got i'm a prude and ordering the injured to be taken to russia's best hospitals for treatment russia's antiterrorism committees operational headquarters are currently coordinating actions to prevent any possible explosions in the russian president is due to address to the nation any moment now of course we'll be carrying that live here on r.t. international also it has been announced three days of national mourning. were russia's anti terror committee has issued a statement on the events today. and it stays that approximately twelve pm. may day in the city of the crimean republic there was an explosion of the polytechnique college the head of the national anti terror committee's operational office says that special forces are currently at the scene we were hearing earlier

that a manhunt was under way to the station perhaps there was a concern too of the potential for the explosions of the territory near because each has been cordoned off and the evacuation of those inside the building we are told. there was no saying what fifteen people are still missing as the investigation is now getting into full gear now at this technical college this technical university eastern crimea this really small town of coach but the injured are all being taken to the local medical facilities military medical awards already two of these scuse me the medical was ready to receive more of the injured now video has emerged of a witness describing what she saw she says she's still in a state of panic and can barely breathe. but they were who indeed you are you have no you what. do you know they don't know broadly is the deal a void is a very much

a is the idea of the family because the why did he grow the only. local media i spoke to students at the college who recalled their experiences. there was an explosion in the can see right after that people with john stars run out of the bathrooms they had masks on their faces it wasn't possible to see what their nationalities were there were so many of them i can't say exactly how many they shot at students and teachers everyone who got on their way they also threw backs of explosives. i don't know what's happening now we were outside talking to our friends and heard an explosion we does get shattered we started running jumping over the fence i don't know whether it was an explosion but it was very loud where and as far as we could that's all i know we've also heard from a member staff of the college entrance and this is what she said. i didn't see anyone unusual children were coming in i let everyone in and as soon

as they all got through i heard an explosion then a second one then people started coming downstairs seen the heard shots being fired but no one unusual had entered maybe they use a back door there are no cameras there it's easy to get in i heard shots i called an ambulance and press the alarm button. but we understand that for croft with medical aid iraq now is heading to crimea the security measures have been intensified and the military are helping to evacuate the injured from the scene of the last of the updating the death toll here now it is up to you seeing. now up to seventy injured during this the vast majority of them being students of course so they're saying the number of dead is expected to rise due to the severity of some of the injuries are forty people hospitalized and ideas they were saying that they found within the boys in the remains of the explosive device it was packed with

shrapnel to have the most devastating effect possible and that's why as we just heard from this go with it marsha just now describing what she saw she saw her friends shot down right in front of our eyes she saw a blood coming of man being killed her best friend died as well it's it's just a tragic thing to hear isn't it and piecing together what was said and the information we've got not just an explosion but gunshots too we shouldn't forget that account from a student who was in the canteen where the explosion happened she said there was gunfire a man with masks ran out of the bathrooms there and started shooting students and teaches time in crimea they have a declared no way with three days of national mourning now the russian president vladimir putin has offered his sincerest condolences and he is reading to get in front of the camera and to address the nation on the world to discuss exactly what has happened today it has been confirmed as an act of terror at a technical unified. city in eastern crimea. a manhunt. is still being

conducted for the. carried out this is a taxi c.c.t.v. footage is also being looked at to help them get a lead on who might have been behind this. it all happened at around three hours ago now. that's when the first explosion was heard gunshots were heard. of the thirteen students that were killed today all of them teenagers the entire school has been evacuated and i think i'm right in saying really that all those under the rubble that were under the rubble have now been recovered but there's still fifteen students who are missing it's not sure where they are perhaps we hope they did escape the building and people are still trying to locate them we don't know the night or you'd imagine you'd imagine when something like this because you would you would perhaps just run for cover and i'm going to hide

anywhere you can at fifteen people still missing not in the rubble though but they could be hiding anywhere out of fear just fear for their own safety a local media posted on a verifiable video of who they say is the director of the poly technical college have a listen to this we should look through i could have been dead now all my people were shot down children die my colleagues. you. know you just never actually hear a story like this happening in russia where you know we cover the news here every day we cover school shootings or a very disturbing lee regular basis but this is something different it's the trial the level of terror here is really quite shocking explosive device at least one of the gunman shooting their rifles our bags of dynamite reportedly being thrown at the students witness accounts of their best friends being gunned down the russian presidential spokesman. has made some comments on the situation that's of a quick listen to that and. for information about the number of casualties has been

handled the president deep condolences to those who lost their relatives the president has ordered the emergency services to undertake merging actions to assure the urgent transportation of the injured to the country's best hospitals it will the president has ordered the security services to undertake measures to establish the cause of the incident we're waiting for that information would r.c.m.p. if. ok well that was just the rushing up and spokesperson of just telling us the facts as we know them at this stage these are some of the latest pictures we've received from the city of crimea where that blast happened it happened around three hours ago it is being treated as a terror attack and not only was there a blast there i witness accounts too that when this blast happened in the canting gunmen then stormed out of bathrooms and started shooting students and also teaches we've heard some harrowing accounts of what happened let's just remind you of

a couple of them. one came from a student who was actually in the canteen at the time. she said that's when the first explosion happened right after that people with guns started running out of the bathrooms they had masks on their faces it was impossible to say what nationalities they were there were so many of them she says i can't say exactly how many they shot at students and teachers everyone got in their way i don't think many people got injured she says although we now know that that isn't the case i think it's around seventy believed that have been injured many of those have been taken to hospitals in crimea of course but it's expected that many will be airlifted to russian hospitals including moscow all throughout the day. this witness also goes on to say it's those gunmen also three bags of explosives so that really does give you a graphic account of what went what happened today around three hours ago at this

technical college we do know of the thirteen that have died all of them are teenagers fifteen still missing. we're unsure what that means exactly we know that the building has been entirely evacuated we hope that those people that are still missing may have got out of the building safely to as regards to rescuing people who were under the rubble we're also. soul that all those under the rubble have been rescued so this is the situation the moment it has been treated as a terror attack special forces are in crimea at the moment the territories in lockdown and the manhunt for those responsible is underway over the last few minutes we've also been told that they're now going through c.c.t.v. footage in the hope of picking up some sort of lead to help them identify those who were responsible here at r.t. our crew has been sent there about a couple of hours ago they should probably get there in the next two or three hours

to the local pictures that we've received from local t.v. networks. not too many pictures that have to be said of come out so far but these pictures were sent to worst pretty shortly after that initial explosion and you can see an ambulance there and people. badly injured being loaded on board and they will then be taken to local hospitals but as we now know the law to be airlifted injured people were all together lifted to russia's best hospitals that's what we were told by the russian president vladimir putin he he is due to give a statement shortly in the scene if he does we'll go to it straightaway. but let's give you an idea of where this college is because the college is situated in the city of curch which is located in the southern part of russia that's an eastern crimea happened around the blast happened at around midday local time fifteen people dimensions are reported missing at the moment if issues stay though that no

one is under the rubble or those under the rubble have been. recovered that's what we know so far. well local media did speak to students at the college who were cold their experiences. first there was an explosion in the contini right after that people with john stars run out of the bathrooms they had masks on their faces it wasn't possible to see what their nationalities were they were so many of them i can't say exactly how many they shot at students and teachers everyone who got in their way they also threw back so it's.