UPDATES WITH DETAILS, CHANGES DECK, LEDE
By Elena Teslova
MOSCOW (AA) - Death toll from shooting at the Crocus City concert hall in Moscow region rose to 115 as more bodies were pulled from under the debris, the Russian Investigative Committee said on Saturday.
Assailants stormed the hall late Friday, opened fire, killing at least 115 people, injuring more than 145 others and setting fire to the venue. Parts of the building collapsed, complicating the search and rescue operation.
The terrorist attack took lives of three children, the investigative body said in a statement, noting that the figure was likely to increase.
The committee identified gunshot wounds and poisoning from combustion products as the most common causes of death.
The data on the number of injuries, meanwhile, differed. The Moscow region Health Ministry published a list of 147 people who were admitted to medical care after the incident, while Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said 115 people were injured, including five children. The Emergency Ministry published a list of 99 injured.
Murashko emphasized that 60 people are in a critical condition, and doctors are fighting for their lives.
Hundreds of people came to medical centers to donate their blood to injured people, with the Health Ministry saying blood will be needed in coming weeks to treat burns.
- 11 people arrested, included 4 perpetrators
The Investigative Committee said it detained 11 people, including four perpetrators, in the border region of Bryansk who were heading to Ukraine.
Separately, the Federal Security Force (FSB) said it learned that a handler was waiting for the group on the Ukrainian side of the border to facilitate the passage and provide cover.
"Trying to escape, the terrorists were heading towards the Russian-Ukrainian border, planned to cross out and had contacts on the Ukrainian side," it said in a statement.
The FSB said the group offered resistance, but was ultimately held and was being transported to Moscow for further investigation.
According to authorities a main highway leading to Ukraine was closed, and other important roads were being thoroughly monitored.
The FSB is working on identifying the accomplice base of the perpetrators of the terrorist attack, said agency head Aleksandr Bortnikov.