95 still missing!

Moscow terror: Is the death toll much higher?

Crocus City Hall on the outskirts of Moscow

(Bild: APA/AFP/NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA)

Almost a week has passed since the devastating terrorist attack on Crocus City Hall near Moscow. 143 fatalities have been confirmed so far, with 360 people reported injured. However, 95 people are still missing. They are not listed among the deceased or the injured. Their relatives search and worry ... and despair of the system.

Dmitri searches with all his might for his brother Oleg. He was at the Piknik concert with his wife and 19-year-old daughter on the evening of the attack. They were sitting right at the front, somewhere in the first rows, when the terrorists started shooting, Dmitri tells the BBC. Oleg was hit in the back as he stood in front of his family to protect them. The wife was able to lift her daughter, who was also injured by a bullet, out of the building with all her strength, the Russian says. But there is still no trace of Oleg.

His friend Alexandra is helping him with the search. She complains to the BBC about a veritable "information chaos". The information in the hospitals is very different and confusing. Volunteers had regretfully sent them a video in which a terrorist kills a man described as looking like Oleg. However, Dmitri did not recognize him. Now we have to wait and see. Wait for official information to arrive at some point. So far, however, they have not even been offered a DNA test.

Young women cry in front of Crocus City Hall.

(Bild: APA/AFP/NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA)

Volunteers give great hope
Alexandra, however, was deeply touched by the efforts of volunteers. "People are reacting as if this is our shared tragedy," she reports. She feels a sense of reliability, solidarity and unity. This gives her "great hope that perhaps all is not yet lost here ... All is not yet lost. But without this support, we would have a very difficult time now."

The Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations announced on Tuesday that the search and rescue operations for the victims of the terrorist attack had been completed. According to the telegram channel "Baza", however, 95 people are still missing.

Agonizing waiting and fear
Danila is still looking for his 30-year-old brother Dmitri. A few hours before the attack, he called his mother and told her that he was going to the concert, Danila told the BBC. He has not been in touch since then. The relevant authorities and hospitals had been unable to help. Investigators contacted him on Thursday and asked him to come by to identify the deceased. However, his brother was not among the deceased, he explains. At least one DNA sample had been taken. "They wouldn't have let us help with the clean-up work - but there were no unidentified deceased people there anyway. They told me I would have to wait ... and hope," sighs Danila.