Police Hunt Fugitive After Monaco Bomb Blast That Wounded Several Victims
Monaco Bombing Incident and Investigation
Details of the Attack
MONACO, June 29 (Reuters) - Police in Monaco and neighbouring France were searching on Tuesday for a man suspected of detonating a makeshift bomb in Monaco that wounded several people, a local official said, while French and Ukrainian media reported that a Ukrainian-born oligarch was the intended target.
Victims and Injuries
Two of the victims suffered life-threatening injuries from Monday evening's attack, Christophe Mirmand, minister of state of Monaco, told BFM TV.
Intended Target: Vadym Yermolaiev
BFM TV and Le Figaro newspaper said the target of the attack was Vadym Yermolaiev, who was a major real estate developer in Dnipro. He left Ukraine several years ago, renounced his Ukrainian citizenship and became a citizen of Cyprus. He was placed under Ukrainian sanctions in December 2023.
Response and Investigation Efforts
Emergency Services and Police Operation
French emergency services deployed to the scene to provide back up and a joint police operation was underway to track down the fugitive, France's interior ministry said.
Official Statements
"No event of this nature has ever happened in the Principality before," Mirmand told the French news channel.
Location and Method of Attack
The blast occurred shortly before 9 p.m. (1900 GMT) on Monday in the centre of Monaco, a tax-free microstate on the French Riviera known as a haven for billionaires and their luxury yachts.
French newspaper Le Figaro said video surveillance images showed a man dropping a backpack at the entrance of a residential building shortly before the explosion.
BFM TV described the explosive device as a "parcel bomb", citing the principality's prosecutor general, while Prince Albert of Monaco described the attack as "an odious act."
Reporting
(Reporting by Manon Cruz and Layli Foroudi; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani and Sudip Kar-Gupta and Louise Heavens)