Police in Monaco and neighbouring France are hunting for a man suspected of detonating a makeshift bomb in the centre of the wealthy Mediterranean principality, which seriously injured several people, officials said.
Three people, including a teenager, were hurt in the explosion that struck at about 9pm local time (19:00 GMT) on Monday in a residential building in Monaco, according to authorities in the micro-state on the French Riviera, known as a haven for billionaires and their luxury yachts.
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According to the AFP news agency, Ukrainian oligarch Vadym Yermolaiev was one of those wounded.
Monaco’s Minister of State Christophe Mirmand initially told AFP that the blast appeared to be “an attack”, but later dropped the term, describing it as a “deliberate explosion”.
A couple in their 50s or 60s suffered life-threatening conditions, while a 13-year-old who was “very likely related to the couple” suffered less serious injuries, Mirmand said, without disclosing their identities.
The explosive device apparently contained bolts and buckshot, Mirmand said.
“This is the first time in history, to my knowledge, that such an act has taken place in the principality,” he said.
A source close to the investigation who asked not to be named told AFP that one of those wounded was Yermolaiev.
Yermolaiev, a multimillionaire Monaco resident, has been subject to sanctions from Kyiv since December 2023, which Ukrainian security services reportedly said stemmed from his alcohol business activity in Russian-occupied Crimea.
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Monaco’s public prosecutor, Stephane Thibault, said a suspect had left a bag or package in the building’s lobby before leaving.
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.
Monaco’s Prince Albert II described the incident as a “heinous crime” and “a shock to the entire Monegasque community”.
An aide to French Minister of the Interior Laurent Nunez said police were working “to find the perpetrator, who has fled”.
An AFP photographer at the scene saw a heavy police presence with access to the area cordoned off, while a helicopter circled overhead.
