Watch: Hours After Explosion, Bridge Connecting Russia-Crimea Nearly Restored

Hours after suffering a major explosion, the bridge connecting Crimea and Russia was "almost fully restored", the Russian embassy in India said. This morning, a truck explosion ignited a huge fire and severely damaged the key Kerch bridge which acts as Russia's sole land link with annexed Crimea.

A video shared by the embassy showed a train making its way slowly on the repaired track as workers looked on. "Movement at the Crimean Bridge almost fully restored after the morning incident. The first trial train successfully passed the railway track," the Russian embassy in India tweeted.

Movement at the #CrimeanBridge almost fully restored after the morning incident. The first trial train successfully passed the railway track. pic.twitter.com/jOKVLWGJMR

— Russia in India 🇷🇺 (@RusEmbIndia) October 8, 2022

Grand Service Express, which operates services between Crimea and Russia, said two trains left the peninsula in the early evening for Moscow and Saint Petersburg, news agency AFP reported.

Three people were killed in the blast that ripped through the 19-kilometre bridge more than seven months into Moscow's Ukraine offensive. Russia said the blast set ablaze seven oil tankers transported by train and collapsed two car lanes of the giant road and rail structure.

The bridge, personally inaugurated by President Vladimir Putin in 2018, is a vital transport link for carrying military equipment to Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine.