The suspect in the explosion of an explosive device, which seriously injured three people in a residential building in Monaco, has fled to France, local authorities said, CBS News reports, writes UNN.
Details
French and Ukrainian media reported that a Ukrainian tycoon and his family were among the victims.
The attack on Monday evening stunned the elite principality on the Mediterranean coast. Monaco's leader, Prince Albert II, called it a "despicable act" and said all the country's services are mobilized to ensure security.
The authorities of France and Monaco are searching for the attacker, whose motives are under investigation, Monaco's highest-ranking government official, Minister of State Christophe Mirmand, told reporters.
The explosion occurred around 9:00 p.m. local time near the entrance of a residence close to the French border, injuring two adults and a child, who were taken to hospitals in France, he said.
"The suspect crossed the border into France on foot and was identified through video surveillance in Monaco and the neighboring French town of Beausoleil," Mirmand said.
A French national police spokesperson said French police are searching for the suspect and supporting the investigation, but declined to elaborate.
French and Ukrainian media identified one of the victims as Ukrainian construction magnate Vadym Yermolayev.
As Nice-Matin notes, Monaco police worked throughout the night on the investigation, including determining the type of explosive device. The suspect — a suspicious man in a dark top and hat — was spotted by surveillance cameras in the town of Beausoleil before police lost track of him on a dead-end street. As of Tuesday morning, he was still actively being sought.
According to a source close to the investigation cited by Nice-Matin, the three victims of the explosion are alive. All three were taken to hospitals in Nice on Monday evening by the emergency medical services (SMUR) of Nice and Monaco, initially in critical condition, before one of the victims was reclassified as having less serious injuries. "A woman, whose lower limbs were partially torn off by the blast, is in the most critical condition. Her identity has not yet been disclosed," the publication writes.