Monaco blast injures Ukrainian tycoon Vadym Yermolaiev and family

An explosion at the entrance to an apartment building in Monaco injured a Ukrainian tycoon with ties to Russia and two family members, authorities said on Tuesday. Prosecutor Stéphane Thibault said police were searching for a suspect who fled on foot after the blast late on Monday, and that the motive was not yet clear.

Media reports identified one of the injured as Ukrainian-born construction and real estate businessman Vadym Yermolaiev. Authorities did not officially name the three injured people, but Monaco's minister of state Christophe Mirmand said, "It appears that the family was specifically targeted," adding that surveillance footage showed the suspect had "walked around the area several times while waiting for the victims".

The blast took place at about 9 pm on Monday at the entrance of a residence near the French border. According to Mirmand, the three were "apparently returning home peacefully" and "were caught in the explosion as they crossed the threshold of their apartment building". Thibault said the woman who was injured was in a life-threatening condition. Mirmand told French broadcaster LCI that she was being treated at a hospital in Nice, while her partner and a 13-year-old child suffered less severe injuries but remained in hospital on Tuesday.