A BRITON due to get married later this year was killed on Monday in a terrorist attack on Moscow’s largest international airport. Gordon Campbell Cousland, 39, was amongst the 35 people killed, with more than 150 injured when a suicide bomber blew up a suitcase in the baggage lounge area. Cousland had a baby daughter and was due to marry in April.
 |
| CARNAGE: One of the injured is taken away |
Chaos and confusing spread after the explosion ripped through the International Arrivals department at the Domodedevo airport. Unlike previous terrorist atrocities to have hit the country, such as the Beslam school siege in 2004, this wasn’t a Russian aimed attack. Security staff confirmed that it was a suicide bomb shortly after the blast. Eyewitnesses who managed to escape unscathed told worldwide media that bolts, screws and shrapnel were spread across a wide range of floor. One told Russian agencies; “I saw a bag on fire, people dead on the floor and in the luggage trolleys. It was carnage.”
Russia president Dmitry Medvedev expressed his sadness and has vowed that those terrorists responsible for the attack will be caught and punished. He also confirmed that extra security has been put in place at all of Russia’s airports and transport networks. The airport continued to function despite the destruction, with people still landing at Domodedevo airport only hours after the attack.
The search is now on for the perpetrators of this attack and the implications could be severe for those responsible, especially if any previous history is to go by. Thoughts go out to the families of the dead and especially to the family of Gordon Campbell Cousland, who was in the wrong place, at the wrong time.
