retired Major Myka Tyry on the Crimea Bridge blast. @ChrisO_wiki

[BootinUp]

ChrisO
@ChrisO_wiki

1/ Finland's national broadcaster Yle has published an interesting interview with an explosive ordnance disposal expert, retired Major Myka Tyry of the Finnish Defence Forces, on the Crimea Bridge blast. He makes a number of points I've not seen elsewhere.

Link to tweet

2/ Tyry estimates that the explosives used "may have weighed between one and two thousand kilograms" (2,200-4,400 lb) but was "not a conventional mixture of fuel oil and ammonium nitrate, but something of much higher quality".

3/ He also points out that it wasn't just a big fireball, but was followed by "flaming torches in the air ... This suggests the use of combustible metals such as aluminium, magnesium or thermite to amplify the explosion."

4/ "In such an explosion, the burning metals spread over a much wider area than just the usual large fireball. That would explain how a train dozens of metres away caught fire from the explosion."

5/ Tyry suggests that the explosive payload may have included Russian-made thermite incendiaries. (The Russians have used these extensively in Ukraine, and the Ukrainians have captured unfired Russian thermite rockets; see thread below on this topic.)

6/ He also comments that the explosion likely happened on the bridge deck, with "little air between the explosives and the deck. For example, exactly the height of the truck."

7/ He points to a lack of water disturbance as evidence against the possibilities of a boat bomb or sabotage of the bridge structure. An explosion at sea level would have caused a spout of water, he says, but this isn't visible in the published videos.

8/ He also points to the location of the visible damage: "If the explosive had been placed below the deck of the bridge, then there would have been no scorch marks from the explosion on the railings of the adjacent car lane."

9/ "Likewise, the 'flares' would have flown upwards, not downwards and sideways as they did in the explosion."

Interview is linked below (h/t @m5b71) – I'd be interested to see if any other EOD people have commented on this yet. /end

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1579480666282287104.html

[James48]

1. Two theories

It’s possible the truck was carrying sone of those the emote rockets, and simply exploded whilst on the bridge.

I’m more inclined to think it also might have been a charge in a train car, because I can’t fathom the likelihood of a blowing up truck going off exactly when in the middle of a train along side.

Unless it was a driver activated truck bomb based of a load of thermite missiles.

[BootinUp]

3. The train was stationary at the time as far as I know. So not too hard to time

really.

Seems likely to me that it was remotely triggered by someone within visual distance and the driver was just collateral damage.

[Gaugamela]

2. How come our generals don't look like Viggo Mortensen?

[Irish_Dem]

5. I had the same thought.

Love his hair.

[crickets]

4. Lots of interesting threads nested in the conversation. K&R