The wife of a Ukrainian oligarch who was believed to have lost her legs in the horror Monaco bombing has confirmed she was not caught in the explosion that left her husband fighting for his life.
Businessman Vadym Yermolaiev, 56, was rushed to a hospital in Nice, France this week after a bomb was detonated at a residential complex in the city state on Monday, and is in critical condition alongside two other people. It was initially reported that his wife Anna Ermolaeva, also 56, was among those taken for urgent medical care after both of her legs were torn off in the explosion, believed to have been caused by a parcel bomb in what is being treated as an attempted murder plot.
But it has now been confirmed that Ms Ermolaeva was not injured in the Monaco attack, being elsewhere when the incident took place at around 9pm local time (7pm GMT).
View 3 ImagesA sheet covering the scene after the explosion(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
She spoke to Ukrainian state outlet Suspilne to confirm that she was not at the scene of the attack, but was “in a state of severe stress”. She said: “We are currently in a state of severe stress and are actively cooperating with the investigation and law enforcement agencies.”
The woman injured in the attack, who has not yet been identified, “had limbs including her legs amputated”, the outlet added, and her 13-year-old son was also injured after being thrown nearly 50 feet. He is “stable” following the incident.
Mrs Yermolaiev’s son is not 13, and is believed to be turning 17 this year. The attack reportedly took place as residents were “apparently returning home peacefully” home and the bomb – a bag packed with explosives, nuts and bolts – was detonated in the building’s foyer.
View 3 ImagesCCTV footage captured a man believed to be a suspect
Christophe Mirmand, the minister of state for Monaco, said in an update that the group was “caught in the explosion as they crossed the threshold of their apartment building”. He added: “It appears that the family was specifically targeted.”
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French authorities have launched a major manhunt after the bomber reportedly escaped, with a suspect captured on CCTV fleeing towards Beausoleil, a French commune close to the country’s border with Italy. French publication Le Figaro reported the video, taken moments before the attack, showed a man dropping a backpack in the building lobby where the explosion took place.
Stephane Thibault, Monaco’s public prosecutor, said the blast was being investigated as “attempted murder”, and was not being considered an act of terrorism.
The motive for the attack is as of yet unclear, but Mr Yermolaiev is the most notable figure left injured in the incident. The Ukrainian business tycoon, who renounced his citizenship in 2017 to become a Cypriot citizen, was named the 39th richest person in the country in 2020, with a massive fortune of £173.8 million.