The Russian city of Togliatti is observing a day of mourning after a blast on a passenger bus left eight people dead and 50 others injured. Police say they have identified a suspect in the bombing after searching an apartment in the city famed for making Ladas.

Alexander Bastrykin, who is leading the investigation, says detectives have found aluminium wire and nails similar to those used in the device. “We have every reason to believe that this person, willingly or not, performed actions which led to the explosion in the bus.”

The presidential envoy to the Volga region, Alexander Konovalov, said the blast detonated at a height of about 1.2 metres above the floor of the bus, suggesting it could have been the work of a suicide bomber. But Bastrykin said this had not been confirmed.

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