(AP) - A bomb blast tore through a Moscow market Monday morning, killing at least 10 people and injuring dozens, officials said.
Deputy Mayor Vladimir Resin said a homemade bomb detonated in a two-story trading arcade at Cherkizovsky market in the northeastern part of the city at about 10:30 a.m. City prosecutor Yuri Syomin told reporters at the scene that 41 people had been hospitalized, reports Trend.
Syomin said the bombing was likely connected with organized crime or a dispute between businessmen, however investigators were not ruling out terrorism.
A 200-square-yard section of the market collapsed in the blast, Emergency Situations Ministry spokeswoman Yulia Stadnikova said. She said at least two of those killed were children.
The Russian general prosecutor's office said it had opened a murder investigation. Terrorism is a separate offense under Russian law.
The market is one of several sprawling complexes on the outskirts of the central city with hundreds of food, clothing and hardware stands.
"It sounded like a thunderstorm. Who knows what happened?" said Vyacheslav Lobastov, who was shopping at the market at the time of the blast.
Markets in Russia's restive Caucasus region frequently have been targeted by bombers over the past several years; most of the blasts are believed to be connected to organized crime or commercial disputes. In June, two people were injured in an explosion at a market in Samara.
In February, a roof at a Moscow market collapsed under heavy snow, killing 66 people.
...