Russia: Trembling, bloodied, faces blackened, commuters trooped out of a Moscow metro station after a morning rush-hour blast tore through their packed train.
Passengers were clearly in shock but displayed no panic after making their way through choking smoke in a tunnel after the latest bomb attack attributed to Chechen separatists.
"We could not get the doors open for a very long time," said Maria, in her early twenties, her face spattered in blood. "Then at last the men managed to open them and we all set off on foot, about 2 km." The driver immediately took measures to limit loss of life, calling on his radio to have high voltage lines switched off. "It was only when I received confirmation that the power was off I opened the door and started to lead people away," said Vladimir Gorelov.
As always at 8.30 a.m., carriages were full. "You can hardly get aboard in the mornings," said Lyudmila (31) as she emerged from below.
"As soon as the train stopped, they started taking people out through smashed windows and doors. And with the power cut, they led us down the rails to Paveletskaya station." Rescuers carefully carried the injured on stretchers - some on drips - up escalators to street level to waiting ambulances.
Outside the station, dazed passengers milled about for a time, their clothes torn, many reaching for medicines.
"All of a sudden there was this big boom and the carriage filled with smoke. It was complete madness. Things happened too suddenly to get scared," said Ilya Blokhin, a doctor among the passengers. "When they started to bring people out I saw some workers who were on the ground. As a doctor, I could see people lying there dead." People waiting for the train at the next station - the busy Paveletskaya railway station - heard and felt the blast.
"I heard a terrible explosion and almost fell over," said 18-year-old student Alexander Maximov, his face pale, his hands shaking. "My first thought was to run outside to the fresh air but from the shock I could hardly move." - (Reuters)