Russian divers to check damage to blast-hit Crimea bridge

Russian divers were to examine on Sunday the damage from a powerful blast on a road-and-rail bridge to Crimea that is an imposing symbol of Moscow's annexation of the peninsula and a key supply route to its forces battling in southern Ukraine, Qazet.az reports according to Russian media.

Saturday's explosion on the bridge over the Kerch Strait prompted gleeful messages from Ukrainian officials but no claim of responsibility. Russia did not immediately assign blame for the blast, which images showed blew away half of a section of the bridge's roadway, with the other half still attached.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin said the divers would start work in the morning, with a more detailed survey above the waterline expected to be complete by day's end, domestic news agencies reported.

"The situation is manageable - it's unpleasant, but not fatal," Crimea's Russian governor, Sergei Aksyonov, told reporters. "Of course, emotions have been triggered and there is a healthy desire to seek revenge."