UPDATES DEATH TOLL; ADDS DETAILS, PUTIN'S REMARKS
By Elena Teslova
MOSCOW (AA) – The death toll from the explosion at a polytechnic college in Crimea's city of Kerch rose to 18, the region's governor said on Wednesday.
Speaking to reporters, Sergey Aksyonov said 40 others also sustained injuries in the blast.
The attacker has been identified as Vladislav Roslaykov, a 18-year-old student, who committed suicide after carrying out the attack, he added.
Aksyonov said the body of the attacker was found in the college’s library and the motive behind the attack is yet to be ascertained.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin at a joint news conference with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said it was clearly a crime and that the results of investigations would be made public.
Putin and al-Sisi extended condolences to the relatives of the deceased.
Earlier, Russia's National Anti-terrorism Committee said an unidentified explosive device went off at the college at around 12.30 p.m. local time (0930GMT).
Russian Investigative Committee termed the crime as a “murder committed in a socially-dangerous manner. ”
Commenting on the attack, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told a daily news briefing in Moscow that officials are considering the blast as a terrorist attack.
Rescue services and law enforcement officers are currently working at the area, while measures are being taken to prevent any consecutive blast.
