Witness of Vitsebsk blast: We thought it was gas

“To KGB in Soviet Street? No f... way. Some sh... has exploded there!" a taxi-driver kept refusing to take me to the local affiliate of KGB where a hand-made bomb exploded on Sunday. However, he agreed to do it a minute later.

I noticed lots of policemen and driving inspectors in the streets on our way to the spot. It resembled Minsk after the explosion in the metro. The taxi-driver stopped 200 meters away from KGB and flatly refused to drive any further. I had to walk to the explosion site.

Vitebsk KGB is situated in a beautiful building with a small square in front of it. A musical college is opposite to it. But I was not allowed to approach - policemen were everywhere. I headed for the nearest block of flats and met a woman walking her dog. Tatstsyana (it was my interlocutor's name) told me that she had walked her dog there the day before.

“I was walking there. A young couple caught up to me here and disappeared in the darkness. That passage used to be lighted two months ago," said Tatstsyana.

She thinks that the couple may be blamed for the crime because she did not notice anyone else near the building of KGB on that evening. No wonder: it was very cold to stay in the park. The blast occurred as soon as the woman entered her flat.

“I returned home, put off the dog's line and wiped his paws... And then I heard a terrible sound - the window panes started clinking. I went to my neighbour and she said that she had heard the same."

One more witness approached us - Tatstsyana's neighbour. He also heard the sound and was frightened. He could not report any details and only complained about the policemen - they did not allow anyone to enter the city the normal way. People had to bypass a lot. Both the witnesses assured me that it could not be a petard.

“Fireworks are different. I thought that it was gas."

Policemen kept approaching us while we were talking. They were using their portable radio transmitters. I noticed a few cars and minibuses approaching the porch although even the employees were asked to park as far from the explosion site as they could.

Tatstsyana could not calm down. She did not believe the official version  - policemen said that a  mentally disordered man  who had threatened KGB members many times had been detained. She said that many strange things happened near the building.

“You know, they organize fireworks right in front of the cells here very often. It could be expected."

Having talked to the witnesses, I headed for the musical college. Students could not tell me anything: they had not studied on Sunday. But everyone knew about the explosion. And I understood that nobody would believe the official explanation published on the KGB website today.