Moscow relatives in fear
“My wife’s cell phone is turned off”
March 23, 2024, 4:01 a.m
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The families of the Moscow concert-goers endure an anxious night: Are their loved ones still alive? Or in the hospital? After the terrorist attack, the families have to reckon with everything. Eyewitnesses report a woman’s terrible scream.
“Fear” and “total despair”: The shock after the fatal attack on a concert hall on the outskirts of Moscow gave way to the anxious waiting of families in the evening. Many had to endure without news of people close to them. “I’m completely panicked, my whole body hurts,” said Semyon Khraptsov, whose wife was at the concert and called him at the time of the attack. However, he couldn’t understand her clearly.
Several hundred people came to the hall that evening to see a concert by the Russian rock group Piknik. But a few minutes before the show begins, several armed men break in. The attackers opened fire, killing dozens of people, according to the Russian authorities. “As soon as I knew what was going on, I came here,” says Chrapzow. “I don’t know what to do. There is a feeling of total desperation.”
Called hospitals
Previously, channels on the online service Telegram that are considered close to the security authorities published videos showing at least two armed men advancing into the hall. In others you can see corpses and people rushing to the exit. Additional footage shows concertgoers hiding behind seats.
30-year-old Igor Bogodayev is also waiting for a sign of life from his wife, whose phone is switched off. “I’m scared,” he says. “I do not know what to do.” His friends tried to get information from hospitals to find out whether his wife was admitted there – but without success.
Mass panic breaks out
Shortly before the concert began, people “suddenly heard several machine gun volleys and a woman’s terrible scream,” “then a lot of screams,” said concert-goer Alexei, a music producer, on the phone. He was in a box at the time of the attack. A mass panic then broke out. Together with other people who were there, he first barricaded himself and then tried to get outside as quickly as possible. On the way, Alexei says, he saw “smoke and ash” in one of the rooms before he reached the exit.
According to the authorities, the major fire in the building in which the concert hall is located was contained in the morning. However, according to Russian media, smoke was still coming from the partially collapsed roof and helicopters were dropping water on the building.
The Russian Emergencies Ministry said it was carrying out measures to rescue people on the roof. According to information, around 100 people were able to reach safety in the basement of the concert hall. The Islamic State jihadist militia claimed responsibility for the attack. It has already targeted Russia on several occasions.