80 left choking by gas attack on Russian store

Adrian Blomfield/London Telegraph | December 27 2005

Scores of shop workers inhaled poisonous gas during an attempted simultaneous chemical attack on at least three hardware stores in St Petersburg yesterday.

Employees at one shop reported seeing a yellowish-green gas filling the air at 9.40am, 20 minutes before they opened for business.

Police have ruled out terrorism in their investigation into the attack which left at least 80 people needing medical attention, 66 of whom were taken to hospital.

"The staff heard a clap and noticed a garlicky smell in the air," said Valery Kuznetsov, of the Federal Security Service (FSB), the successor of the Soviet-era KGB. "Many developed tearful eyes, coughing and heart palpitations."

Canisters fitted with timing devices were found at two other outlets of the Maxidom hardware and household appliance chain.

A guard at one store described how on opening a suspicious box she found glass vials attached to wires and a timer. After breaking one of the vials, she reported "a repulsive smell" but apparently suffered no ill effects.

Explosives experts defused the devices at both outlets.

There were contradictory reports that gas had also been released at Maxidom's fourth store but failed to cause any injuries.

Although Chechen extremists have carried out a string of attacks in Russia over recent years, the FSB said the motive behind the attack was almost certainly commercial.

"We have ruled out terrorism," Mr Kuznetsov said by telephone from St Petersburg. "Only one chain was affected, the incident took place before shoppers arrived and the devices that were used were pretty primitive."

Managers at Maxidom registered a complaint with the police last week after receiving anonymous letters threatening to disrupt pre-New Year sales, normally the busiest shopping period of the year.

Police identified the gas as methyl mercaptan, a foul-smelling natural gas that in its modified form is used in the production of pesticides and jet fuel.

The gas is found naturally in the bodies of humans and animals. It is responsible for the distinctive smell of skunk secretions.

But the intention of the attackers, police say, was not just to create a giant stink bomb. If inhaled in sufficient quantities, methyl mercaptan can cause anaemia, pulmonary oedemas, coma and eventually death.

While 12 people had inhaled moderate to serious quantities, hospital officials said none of the victims was thought to be in a life-threatening condition.

In the murky world of Russian business, it is not uncommon for rivals to resort to violence to settle scores, although the lawlessness of the 1990s has markedly improved since Vladimir Putin became president in 2000.

A criminal investigation was opened into the attacks.

Law enforcement officials said there almost certainly would have been deaths if the shop had been crowded with customers, a fact that is likely to cause concern around the world.

"We always assume that terrorists intent on a mass casualty chemical attack are going to use a sophisticated, combat gas," one police officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"But there are gases like mercaptan that are pretty easily available and that can kill."

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