The car bomb that exploded near a cafe in downtown Pyatigorsk on Tuesday was equivalent to 30-40 kilograms TNT, a source from a law enforcement agency told Itar-Tass on Wednesday. "A shell-less device equivalent to 30 to 40 kilograms TNT planted in a VAZ-2106 car went off. A crater with the diameter of two meters formed at the site," the source said. The blast wave fully destroyed one cafe and two more nearby cafes were damaged. It also smashed windows in houses situated nearby. Reports on victims differ. According to law enforcement agencies, 29 people were injured in the blast. Twenty-three of them are in hospitals. Sources from the central city clinic of Pyatigorsk said 30 injured people had been hospitalized. Three of them are in a grave condition, they said. Criminal proceedings have been instituted. The charges include a terrorist act (article 205 of the Criminal Code), an attempted murder (part 3, article 105) and an illegal production of explosives (article 223). An investigation is in progress.
