Spotlight: St. Petersburg subway resumes operation, 11 killed in explosion

The operation of St. Petersburg subway has been fully restored after the explosion on Monday that killed at least 11 people and injured 45 others, the governor's administrations said in a statement Tuesday.

"St. Petersburg metro started its operation in full in the morning, including all lines and stations," the statement reads.

The blast took place around 14:40 local time (1140 GMT) Monday in a train carriage on the runway between the metro stations Technological Institute and Sennaya Ploshchad (Square) in St. Petersburg, the country's second-largest city and the hometown of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Hours later, police defused a explosive device at another St. Petersburg station. Security measures, including sniffer dogs, identity checks and metal detection, were stepped up in the Moscow metro network after the explosion.

Russian officials described the bombing as an act of terror. The exact cause of the attack remain unknown pending an official investigation.

"Law enforcement agencies and intelligence services are doing their best to establish the cause and give a full picture of what happened," Putin said in televised remarks at the start of his talks with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

Russia's Investigative Committee (IC) opened a criminal case on the explosion in the metro of St. Petersburg, an official statement released by the IC said.

According to the statement, a group of experienced investigators and criminologists from the central office of the Investigative Committee was sent to St. Petersburg. Initial investigative actions are being carried out.

The prosecutor's office in St. Petersburg has also begun an investigation in connection with the explosion. The prosecutor of the city Sergei Litvinenko has already arrived at the scene to coordinate the actions of law enforcement agencies, according to a statement from the Prosecutor General's office.

Representative of the Prosecutor General's office Alexander Kurennoy said his office will do everything it can to uncover how the attack unfolded, "so that this does not happen again in the future."

Russian news agency Interfax reports said Putin arrived at Technological Institute station entrance to lay flowers on Monday, expressing his condolences to the families of the victims.

Meanwhile, the UN Security Council on Monday condemned "in the strongest terms" the terrorist attack in St. Petersburg.

"The members of the Security Council underlined the need to bring perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism to justice," said the statement.

The members of the Security Council also stressed that those responsible should be held accountable and urged all states to cooperate with Russia in this regard.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi Monday sent a message of condolence to his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.

Wang said that China strongly condemns this kind of terrorist act against civilians, and expresses profound condolences to the victims and sincere sympathies to their families.

China is ready with the international community to firmly support Russia's efforts in sternly cracking down on terrorism and strengthen anti-terrorism cooperation, said Wang.

In a phone call with his Russian counterpart Putin on Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump offered his full support to Russia in responding to an attack on St. Petersburg Metro, said the White House.

Trump spoke with Putin to condemn the attack in St. Petersburg and express "his deepest condolences to the victims and their loved ones, and to the Russian people," the White House said in a statement.

The European Union has also condemned Monday's explosion. "Our thoughts go out to the people of Russia, and in particular to those who have lost loved ones in today's explosion in the Saint Petersburg metro. We wish a swift recovery to those who have been injured," a statement by the spokesperson of the European External Action Service said.

Slovak President Andrej Kiska has sent a letter of condolences to his Russian counterpart.

"Only together, via active international cooperation, it is possible to confront terrorism and its supporters. On my own behalf and on behalf of the people of the Slovak Republic, I express condolences to you and to the families of the victims, and I wish those injured a rapid recovery," Kiska wrote to Putin. Endi