Terrorists aimed to incinerate victims alive in Crocus City Hall Owner reveals

Following the alarming terrorist attack on Moscow's Crocus City Hall, Araz Agalarov, owner of the concert hall, offered disturbing revelations about the malicious motives behind the assault.

During an interview with RBC TV channel, Agalarov shared how essential data, vital for apprehending the culprits, was preserved amidst the turmoil.

"We oriented the Emergencies Ministry, and they prevented the fire in this room, saved the information. Using this information, we were able to determine the escape routes, the number of the car that was chased," Agalarov said.

“Their (terrorists’ – RBC) task was different - they didn’t just want to kill a large number of people, they wanted these people to burn alive in the hall, because in parallel with the execution, everything was filled with flammable substances, kerosene, gasoline...”, said Agalarov.

According to him, “there is no concert hall, in general, absolutely everything there burned down”: “If you go into this hall, you won’t even believe that someone could come out of it alive. But due to the fact that all the fire protection systems, the sprinkler system, and fire extinguishing operations were in good condition, they maintained the hall in such a condition for several hours that there was no collapse, so that people had the opportunity to leave. Because, you understand, 6 thousand people, they cannot leave the hall in 2-3 minutes. Moreover, the terrorists were shooting people leaving the hall at almost all the exits.”

The company later said it expected to restore the concert hall. Experts estimated the damage to be up to 12 billion rubles ($130 million).

“Absolutely everything worked,” Agalarov noted, answering a question about the fire safety system. — Sprinkler system, robotic hoses and warning system. We were even asked to turn it off at 4 am, because it was already working in a burned-out building. All systems worked very well, in normal operation.”

During the assault, a security officer from the concert hall tragically lost their life, among other casualties. Agalarov highlighted the daunting challenge faced by security personnel when confronted with heavily armed individuals launching an indiscriminate attack. The discovery of multiple ammunition clips, estimated to be around 600 cartridges, further emphasized the severity of the situation. It was emphasized that the nature of the attack, involving individuals in camouflage brandishing Kalashnikov rifles, exceeded the capacity of standard security protocols, suggesting a coordinated act of sabotage rather than a conventional security threat. “What can the security service do,” says Agalarov.

Ex-vice president of Crocus Group Emin Agalarov, in turn, highly praised the work of the site employees: “What they (security - RBC) could do was help people evacuate, showed people fire exits, helped carry out both the wounded and killed so that they do not remain under the rubble. My personal rating is the highest. No one left the area; security guards from neighbouring buildings joined in. They had blood on their hands, they tried to do everything they could. But it is impossible to resist a Kalashnikov assault rifle without a weapon, with a baton and a shocker.”