A resident of the Kuban region, who drove past the Crimean Bridge toward Yalta after vehicle traffic resumed, described the current car-check procedures to Lente.ru. The main difficulty she faced was that her vehicle had a trailer, and there were no clear indicators of this at the moment of passage.
Before Temryuk, traffic police stopped the vehicle several times, asked for travel plans, and cautioned that traffic would be heavy. As a result, they left the trailer on the bridge, but the control measures on the Krimbrug itself have become noticeably tighter. Every vehicle and passenger is now screened there.
When the vehicle is loaded, it is scanned with an X-ray apparatus. The trailer was empty and contained only a bag of clothing. Passengers underwent screening in a manner similar to airport procedures, stepping through a frame while the empty car was inspected by staff, who arranged them into two lines. After inspection, a convoy of about 100 vehicles, escorted by police cars with flashing lights, would proceed ahead and behind the line.
Circumstances of the incident
The explosion on the Crimean Bridge occurred at 06:00 on October 8. The National Anti-Terrorism Committee reported that a truck detonated on the bridge, igniting seven of the train cars carrying fuel, which were traveling along the railway bridge from above. The blast damaged two traffic spans on the bridge toward the peninsula. The road traffic from Kerch toward Taman remained functional.
Following the disaster, traffic on the bridge was brought to a standstill. By the afternoon, car and bus passage had been restored briefly, and a truck ferry service was launched. Train services resumed later in the day. The All-Russian Insurers Union estimated the financial impact of the explosion and fire on the Crimean Bridge in the range of 200 to 500 million rubles.
The Investigative Committee of Russia classified the incident as an act of terrorism. Investigators are actively identifying those involved, and several suspects have already emerged. Preliminary information suggests the explosion was triggered remotely, with the perpetrators nearby at the time.
The attack targeted a critical civilian infrastructure asset, a large bridge that is vital for regional connectivity, especially for Crimea.
Two Mitsubishi and Cadillac vehicles were observed near the truck at the time of the blast. Three people were killed, including the truck driver and a married couple in one of the cars, according to official updates.