Russia accidentally bombs own city

The site of the crater after an explosion in Belgorod, Russia, on Friday. Pic/AP

When a powerful blast shook a Russian city near the border of Ukraine residents thought it was an Ukrainian attack. But the Russian military quickly acknowledged that it was a bomb accidentally dropped by one of its warplanes.

Belgorod, a city of 3,40,000 about 40 kilometers (25 miles) east of the border, has faced regular drone attacks that Russian authorities blame on the Ukrainian military.

Witnesses reported a low hissing sound followed by a blast that made buildings tremble and threw a car on a store roof. It left a 20-meter (66-foot) -wide crater in a tree-lined boulevard flanked by buildings, shattering windows, damaging several cars and injuring two. A third person was hospitalized with hypertension.

Russian commentators and military bloggers were abuzz with theories about what weapon Ukraine had used.Many called for a powerful retribution. But about an hour later, the Russian Defense Ministry acknowledged the explosion was caused by a weapon accidentally dropped by one of its Su-34 bombers. Military experts said the weapon likely was a powerful 500-kilogram (1,100-pound) bomb.

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever