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Powerboat crashes in racing championship off Key West. At least one hospitalized

At least one person was taken to the hospital after a vessel taking part in an annual powerboat race off Key West crashed Wednesday morning, according to the police.

It was not immediately known if the person was a member of the racing boat’s crew. Key West police spokeswoman Alyson Crean confirmed the person was hospitalized and was being evaluated to possibly be flown to a mainland hospital for treatment.

The boat was participating in the Race World Offshore World Championship, which ends Sunday. Some of the boats can reach speeds of up to 160 mph, according to the Monroe County Tourist Development Council.

“A portion of the challenging 4.4-mile-per-lap course runs through Key West Harbor, meaning smooth water where racers can achieve breathtaking speeds and fans can watch from vantage points that are extraordinarily close to the action,” the TDC said in a press release about the race.

Representatives with Race World Offshore have not returned emailed and phone messages for comment.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Agency, which typically investigates boat crashes, nor the Coast Guard, investigate accidents at league-sanctioned races, sources with those agencies said.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

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2 Powerboat Racers Die After High Speed Crash in Key West

Nov. 9, 2011: In this photo, provided by the Florida Keys News Bureau, rescue personnel, right, work on extracting offshore powerboat racers Robert M. Morgan of Sunrise Beach, Mo., and Jeffrey Tillman of Kaiser, Mo., after their 46-foot catamaran was involved in an accident, during the first of three race days at the Key West World Championship in Key West, Fla. (AP/Florida Keys News Bureau)

KEY WEST, Fla. – Two offshore powerboat racers died Wednesday after their catamaran went airborne at high speed and crashed, marring the opening of three days of racing at the Key West World Championship, officials said.

Big Thunder Marine — a 46-foot Skater catamaran with four 1,200 horsepower engines that competed in the Superboat Unlimited Class — came down so hard its right front hull was severely damaged on the third lap of Wednesday's race inside Key West Harbor, organizers said.

Superboat International President John Carbonell said he witnessed the crash, which occurred adjacent to a spectator area.

"He was probably going about 130 mph and the boat's propellers were barely in the water," Carbonell said. "The boat apparently caught some air and went bow (front) up; straight into the air, came down and went backwards."

He identified the dead as Robert M. Morgan, of Sunrise Beach, Mo., and Jeffrey Tillman, of Kaiser, Mo. They were piloting the boat as throttleman and driver respectively.

Carbonell said rescue divers deployed to the accident site in less than a minute. Both men were removed alive from the wreckage of the catamaran and transported to Lower Keys Medical Center, he added.

Tillman died either before or just after arrival at the hospital, and Morgan apparently soon after leaving Key West aboard an air trauma ambulance, according to organizers.

Carbonell said the force of the boat coming down was powerful and crushing.

Morgan had come out of retirement to race with SBI this year, Carbonell said.

"He told me a few days ago that this (Key West) was his last hurrah," he said "He was a helluva of a nice guy and is going to be missed."

Despite the accident and rescue efforts, the race later continued. But Carbonell said he stopped the race before the scheduled seventh lap due to another accident, which stretched medical and safety resources. Scott Roman of Marlton, N.J., and Ron Roman of Lumberton, N.J., escaped injury after their Motley Crew boat overturned.

Carbonell said that the world championship will continue with scheduled races Friday and the finals Sunday.

"This is a very dangerous sport and the racers know that," he said. "You push it to the edge and see how far you go."

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Key West World Powerboat Championship: Racer Jeffrey Tillman Killed By Incompetence (Video)

The crash killed two men It was one of the most spectacular and horrible crashes in South Florida marine history. A powerboat traveling more than 130 miles per hour flipped over backward and two men drowned beneath the hull in a world championship event as rescue workers struggled to reach the site.

Now, a lawsuit filed in Fort Lauderdale charges the pair, Jeffrey Tillman and his 74-year-old throttleman, Bob Morgan, died unnecessarily.

The suit was filed November 7, just as this past weekend's races in Key West started.. More than 40 boats competed against one another to run the 6.2 mile course.

Miami is a powerboating mecca. Its role in the trade was highlighted in 1987, with the gangland style killing of Don Aronow , the greatest powerboat racer of all time. During that era, the boats were often used to transport cocaine to the United States from the Caribbean.

Tillman and Morgan were killed in November 2011 when their boat flipped over. It took rescue workers nine minutes to reach them, charges the lawsuit filed by attorney William Scherer, because race sponsors incorrectly assumed they were killed by blunt trauma,.

The race was later cancelled because a second boat turned over, and rescue workers were stretched too thin to continue.

Three days later, a second driver, Joey Gratton, was killed when his boat flipped over. His widow has also sued race organizers Superboat International Productions and President John Carbonell. That suit is presently scheduled to go to trial early next year.

Autopsies after the accident showed Tillman and Morgan died from drowning. Saltwater was discovered in their lungs.

The suit faults race sponsors for allowing Tillman's boat to continue even though it didn't have a reinforced cockpit or a through-hull escape hatch, which might have saved the men, According to the Associated Press, boat teams now have to share safety plans with race sponsors, which was not required in the past.

Send your story tips to the author, Chuck Strouse.

Follow Miami New Times on Facebook and Twitter @MiamiNewTimes . .

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WEATHER ALERT

A flood watch and a rip current statement in effect for 5 regions in the area

Video shows racers thrown from powerboat in rough florida keys waters.

Janine Stanwood , Anchor/Reporter

MARATHON, Fla. – Wild video making the rounds online shows a powerboat spinning out in rough waters in the Florida Keys. In seconds, two people are seen being ejected from the vessel and thrown into the water.

It happened over the weekend in Marathon at Race World Offshore’s 7 Mile Grand Prix, a 5.6-mile course for gas-guzzling, high-energy powerboats.

Rob O’Connell and Ervin Grant were the ones thrown off the 27-foot boat sponsored by Team Farnsworth, based in Pompano Beach.

“We caught a pretty good hit. When we came back on the water, we had a steering ram fail on the outdrive that caused us to hook,” O’Connell said. “We both got thrown out of the boat, far away from the boat. It could have rolled over or pinned us under; thank God it just spun.”

Seconds after the crash, Jack Carlson of Two Conch Charters was there with a private medical team to pluck the pair out of the water.

“We quickly got them to the Coast Guard station in Marathon, and EMS took them away,” Carlson said.

U.S. Coast Guard crews could be seen patrolling the waters but were not involved in the transport, an agency spokesperson told Local 10 News.

O’Connell said he and Grant were shaken but eventually realized they were able to move their extremities. Aside from a bruise and laceration on Grant’s foot, they escaped largely unscathed.

Larry Bliel, organizer of Race World Offshore, told Local 10 the race started late and was called off early because of weather on Sunday.

Team Farnsworth owner Win Farnsworth said racing events are for enjoyment and are largely done on a part-time basis.

“It’s to build camaraderie between our teams,” he said. “The last thing we want is anybody hurt.”

O’Connell said he’s in the process of repairing the boat and getting ready for the next race.

“It wasn’t the most optimal conditions, but if you ask a bunch of powerboat racers: ‘Do you want to go, or do you want to stay in shore?’ Ninety-nine percent are going to say, ‘Let’s go,’” he said.

Copyright 2023 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved.

About the Author:

Janine stanwood.

Janine Stanwood joined Local 10 News in February 2004 as an assignment editor. She is now a general assignment reporter. Before moving to South Florida from her Washington home, Janine was the senior legislative correspondent for a United States senator on Capitol Hill.

Local 10 News Saturday @ 9AM : Mar 23, 2024

Local 10 news saturday @ 7am : mar 23, 2024, local 10 news saturday @ 6am : mar 23, 2024, local 10 news saturday @ 5:30am : mar 23, 2024, local 10 news @ 11pm : mar 22, 2024.

VIDEO: Dramatic double boat flip kicks off Race World Offshore Key West Championships

KEY WEST, Fla. (AP) — Offshore powerboat racers Billy Mauff and Jay Muller have piloted WHM Motorsports to lead the Super Cat-class after the first of three competition days at the Race World Offshore Key West Championships in the Florida Keys.

Mauff, of East Setauket, New York, and Muller, of Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey, easily placed first, leading at Wednesday's start and never looking back.

CR Racing, with Robert Unnerstall of Wentzville, Missouri, and Casey Boaz of Osage Beach, Missouri, leads the Super Stock class.

A dramatic two-boat accident occurred on the fifth lap of the Super Stock race. LPC and Team Allen Lawn Care landed upside-down between Turns 2 and 3.

Officials say several crew members were transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Racing is to continue Friday with finals on Sunday.

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Fla. paramedic dies in powerboat race crash

Mike salber, a 22-year veteran of the sanford fire department, died after a collision involving a second powerboat that also injured three others.

By Teresa Stepzinski The Florida Times-Union

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The driver of a racing powerboat has died following a collision involving a second powerboat Saturday that also injured three other racers on the St. Johns River during the Jacksonville Grand Prix of the Sea early Saturday afternoon

Mike Salber, 56, died in the crash offshore of Memorial Park involving the Rapid Building Solutions and Frank & Al’s Pizza powerboats during the race, which is part of the Powerboat P1 SuperStock USA Series.

“Our thoughts are with Mike’s family, friends, colleagues and the powerboat racing community as a whole at this difficult time,” said Powerboat P1 SuperStock USA officials on its website Sunday.

Salber was identified as the driver of the Rapid Building Solutions racing power boat, according to the Powerboat P1 website. His son, Zane Salber, 22, was listed as the boat’s navigator.

Authorities haven’t released the names of the injured racers. All were taken to UF Health Jacksonville following the collision. Information wasn’t available whether the younger Salber was among the injured.

Mike Salber served as a lieutenant/ paramedic with the Sanford Fire Department, where he was a 22-year veteran. Fellow firefighters along with friends and many in the powerboat racing community mourned Salber — offering condolences to his family — in public Facebook posts.

“It is with deep sadness and with a heavy heart that we inform you that Sanford Fire Department Tower Lieutenant Mike Salber has passed away this afternoon from injuries sustained during a boating accident. Please keep Mike’s family in your thoughts and prayers,” Sanford fire officials posted on the department’s Facebook page.

Public social media posts show Salber was an avid powerboat racer and water sport enthusiast.

“He died doing what he loved...racing. I have never met anyone that had such a hunger for life. ... Michael Joseph Salber was one of a kind. He was larger than Life,” one post read.

Witnesses told the Times-Union the two power boats collided in the first turn during the third race Saturday.

Azam Rangoonwala, managing director of Powerboat P1, said the Rapid Building boat turned over and collided with the Frank and Al’s Pizza boat. The Rapid Building boat is from Orlando, while the Frank & Al’s Pizza boat is from Port St. Luice, he said.

The accident remains under investigation.

Copyright 2018 The Florida Times-Union

https://www.facebook.com/SanfordFireDept/posts/1633369040112900 https://www.facebook.com/HammerDownBoating/videos/1695519527164270/

Powerboats flip and crash simultaneously at Key West race

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After Lake Of The Ozarks Powerboat Crash, 'Good Boy Vodka' Racing Announces New Cockpit Team

• by SpeedOnTheWater, with additions by LakeExpo.com
• Jul 28, 2023
• Jul 28, 2023 Updated Oct 18, 2023

Following the dramatic powerboat crash that made national news and injured eight people, the XINSURANCE/Good Boy Vodka race team will be using a new cockpit team for the remainder of the boat racing season. The team's throttleman and part-owner Alex Pratt was seriously injured in that crash.

The announcement was made through a press release from the Union Internationale Motonautique  Class 1  World Championship Series on Thursday. The new cockpit pairing will be for the remainder of the 2023 Class 1 season, which is promoted by  Powerboat P1  and includes upcoming races in Michigan City, Ind. (Aug. 4-6), Sheboygan, Wis. (Aug. 11-13), and St. Petersburg, Fla. (Sept. 1-3).

Following the accident, the team decided it was best to move forward with a new driver and throttleman for the last three Class 1 races plus the  Race World Offshore  World Championship in Key West, Fla., in November.

According to Rick J. Lindsey, president, CEO and chairman of the principal team sponsor, XINSURANCE, the decision was made in the best interest of the X/GBV team. In fact, he sent a letter to everyone with the team before making the news public.

“I’m sure all of you have heard about Alex’s accident,” Lindsey stated. “It may be some time before he can return to racing, so, starting immediately, Alex and Miles (Jennings, the team’s regular driver) will be replaced by Grant Bruggemann and Randy Kent. Miles did a great job, but with getting the new boat ready in a short period of time, logistically it just made more sense so the boat and crew can get as much testing and seat time as possible. We welcome Grant on board and wish Alex a speedy recovery.”

...continue reading at SpeedOnTheWater.com

Prior LakeExpo Coverage

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Suffolk powerboat racer 'a lucky boy' to survive crash

• Published 13 August 2021

A powerboat racer said he was "a lucky boy" to have survived a crash that left him unconscious under water.

Alex Warren, from Henstead, Suffolk, noticed his steering had failed during a race and pushed his boat to full power to avoid hitting a competitor.

The vessel flipped over and hit the water on Oulton Broad at more than 100mph (160km/h), injuring his face.

He said: "I was under water, hanging upside down in that cockpit. I woke up and did my escape as I'd been trained."

As first reported in the Eastern Daily Press , Mr Warren needed stitches to his face and temporarily lost sight in one eye after spending up to two minutes submerged and unconscious at the event on 5 August.

"I remember flying through the air, then a massive impact," he said.

The 53-year-old was taken by ambulance to James Paget Hospital in Gorleston-on-Sea, Norfolk, and needed stitches and eye surgery.

He urged people to continue to support powerboat racing and insisted safety was taken seriously.

"You have to do training, you have to do a dunk test where they simulate crashes," he said.

"If you look at the safety cell on the boat, it's totally untouched, so that's what saved me. I'm a lucky boy.

"People in the past who had that accident have died because the boats weren't as safe as they are now."

He said he would have loved to continue racing, but has taken the difficult decision to retire.

"There's been a lot of tears and upset in the family. I've made some promises to the wife and my children and I don't want to go back on them."

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• Published 8 October 2011

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Deadly Crash On 1st Day Of Keys Power Boat Races

November 9, 2011 / 8:41 PM EST / CBS Miami

KEY WEST (CBS4) – High drama on the high seas. The first day of the Key West World Championship, which features 60 high-speed power boats in three days of racing, was punctuated with two accidents, one of them deadly.

Big Thunder Marine, a 46-foot Skater catamaran (#100) with four 1,200 hp engines, crashed during the third lap of Wednesday's race inside Key West Harbor. Robert M. Morgan of Sunrise Beach, Mo., and Jeffrey Tillman of Kaiser, Mo., were the throttleman and driver respectively piloting the boat.

Rescue divers were deployed within a minute of the accident and the crew members were transferred to Lower Keys Medical Center. Both died later, according to Rodrick Cox, public relations director for Superboat International, the world championship's public relations director.

The season-ending finale of the 2011 offshore racing season has attracted the most foreign entries in years, according to officials with Superboat International, the event's sanctioning body.

Officials have not yet released any details of the accident.

In another accident, Scott Roman of Marlton, N.J., and Ron Roman of Lumberton, N.J., overturned in their Motley Crew boat. Both racers appeared to escape significant injuries and were seen being transferred without assistance to a Coast Guard boat.

The season-ending finale has attracted the most international entries in a number of years, according to officials with Superboat International, the event's sanctioning body.

Teams from Australia, Italy, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom and Ukraine are competing compete, along with U.S. entries.

Following today's races, action is to return Friday, Nov. 11, and Sunday, Nov. 13. Three races are scheduled per day, each featuring boats from multiple classes. Today and Friday heats account for 25 percent of accumulated points each day, while the final day Sunday is worth 50 percent.

Among spectators' favorites is the Superboat Unlimited class, which draws powerful boats that can achieve calm water speeds in excess of 125 mph.

(TM and © Copyright 2011 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Florida Keys News Bureau contributed to this report.)

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As the DOJ investigates Boeing, crash victims' families wonder why it's taken so long

Boeing is under heightened scrutiny from regulators and the public after a door plug panel blew off a jet in midair two months ago. Now the Justice Department is conducting a criminal investigation. Several Boeing 737 Max planes under construction in Renton, Wash. are shown outside the company's plant on February 27, 2024. Jovelle Tamayo for NPR hide caption

Boeing is under heightened scrutiny from regulators and the public after a door plug panel blew off a jet in midair two months ago. Now the Justice Department is conducting a criminal investigation. Several Boeing 737 Max planes under construction in Renton, Wash. are shown outside the company's plant on February 27, 2024.

WASHINGTON — When the door plug blew off a Boeing 737 Max 9 in January , Mark Pegram hoped it would spark a deeper investigation of the company's conduct.

His son Sam was killed in 2019 on Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, the second of two Boeing 737 Max 8 crashes that killed a total of 346 people.

"We've known it for five years, and I think the rest of the world is finally waking up to it, that these weren't just isolated incidents," Mark Pegram said.

Boeing has since paid out billions of dollars in settlements. But the company and its leaders have largely avoided criminal prosecution by reaching an agreement with the Department of Justice. Many of the victims' families were furious.

Sam Pegram was one of 157 killed aboard Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 which crashed in 2019. It was the second Boeing 737 Max 8 to crash within five months. Courtesy of the Pegram family hide caption

Sam Pegram was one of 157 killed aboard Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 which crashed in 2019. It was the second Boeing 737 Max 8 to crash within five months.

"To us, that's not justice," Pegram said in an interview from London. "Nobody's really been held to account for what happened."

Boeing made big promises to the Justice Department in order to avoid prosecution after those earlier Max 8 crashes. But that deal is now facing heightened scrutiny after a door plug blew off a jet in midair.

The Justice Department has launched a criminal investigation of the Alaska Airlines incident . That's a welcome development for the families of crash victims, who've been fighting in court for years to overturn what they consider a sweetheart deal.

The door plug on Alaska Airlines flight 1282 blew out over Portland, Ore. on January 5th — two days before the deal between Boeing and the DOJ was set to expire. And lawyers who represent the crash victims' families say that timing is critical.

The families are "optimistic" that the DOJ will be "more strict with how they look at this new criminal investigation from the Alaska Airlines case," said Robert Clifford, a lawyer in Chicago whose firm represents families of victims from the Max 8 crashes, as well as passengers on board Alaska Airlines 1282 when the door plug blew out.

No one was seriously injured in the most recent incident . But Clifford says the Justice Department has begun sending letters to those passengers informing them that they might be victims of a crime.

"I have seen letters to clients," Clifford said in an interview Thursday. That's an important step, he says, because it's something the Justice Department did not do after the Max 8 crashes.

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The FAA is tightening oversight of Boeing and will audit production of the 737 Max 9

Clifford and other lawyers for the crash victims argue that Boeing has violated the terms of its deal with the DOJ. If federal prosecutors agree, they could seek to extend the settlement, essentially keeping Boeing on probation even longer.

Boeing declined to comment on the investigation. The company has repeatedly promised it will focus on quality and safety .

"There's changes that need to happen. There's no doubt about it. But we're going to do so diligently," said Boeing's chief financial officer Brian West at an investor conference this week. "We won't rush or go too fast."

But lawyers for the crash victims' families say they've heard such promises before.

"Boeing promised to change its corporate culture in order to make safety a higher priority," said Paul Cassell, a professor at the University of Utah College of Law . "But none of those promises seem to have been kept."

This National Transportation Safety Board photo shows an opening in the fuselage of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282. The door plug blew off the Boeing 737 Max 9 on January 5, 2024 as it climbed through 14,000 feet. NTSB via Getty Images hide caption

This National Transportation Safety Board photo shows an opening in the fuselage of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282. The door plug blew off the Boeing 737 Max 9 on January 5, 2024 as it climbed through 14,000 feet.

Cassell, a former federal judge and expert on the Crime Victims' Rights Act, is representing the families of the Max crash victims for free. He argues the Justice Department failed to consult with those families before reaching its deal with Boeing .

"It seemed like a real slap on the wrist," Cassell said, "for what has been properly described as the deadliest corporate crime in U.S. history."

The families won a legal victory last February, when federal judge Reed O'Connor in Texas found that the Justice Department had violated the victims' rights. But O'Connor did not grant the families' request to nullify the deal.

The Department of Justice also declined to comment.

To Mark Pegram, whose son died in the Ethiopian crash, the DOJ's renewed interest in Boeing is long overdue.

Boeing's quality control draws criticism as a whistleblower alleges lapses at factory

'Cozy' relationship between Boeing and the U.S. draws scrutiny amid 737 Max 9 mess

"The more that's coming out lately, you know, the more frustrated and angry we are as family members," said Pegram, whose family is one of more than 30 represented by the law firm Kreindler & Kreindler. "To see that five years on, the culture is still there where production defects are covered up, documentation is inadequate, whistleblowers aren't being listened to, and there are huge problems there."

The family has kept fighting the case because they want accountability for Boeing's leaders, Pegram says, and because they want the company to make safe planes again .

Pegram says that's what his son would have wanted. Sam was 25 years old, and on his way to a human rights conference in Kenya, when he was killed.

"Sam was somebody who fought for justice," Mark Pegram said. "As you can imagine, it's not easy to keep giving these interviews. But the reason we do is because we want our family members' stories to be heard. They're not just a number."

• Boeing 737 Max

International / UK/Europe

10 dead in moscow metro accident.

Georgy Golukhov, the head of Moscow's health department, had earlier said five people had perished and another 106 had been taken to hospital.

AFP correspondents saw several helicopters and dozens of ambulances at the scene outside Park Pobedy metro station in western Moscow.

"I thought it was the end," one passenger told state television channel Rossiya 24. "We were trapped and only got out through a miracle.

"There were lots of injured," he added. "Various injuries: heads, legs."

Alexei Naryshkin, a presenter on the popular Echo of Moscow radio station, posted a photograph on Twitter of rescue workers carrying a body in a black bag.

"They are laying out the injured. They constantly go down with stretchers. They carry them out. Some are unconscious. Some are moaning with pain," Naryshkin wrote.

Another witness, a young man in a polo shirt, told Life News television: "I got into the carriage and after about 20 seconds, the light went out and the train was just pulled apart. I was just thrown into the centre of the carriage."

"Panic started," he told Life News television.

"We climbed out of the carriages and we saw a blockage, men took hammers and pliers and broke it down and we walked on. The train was smashed, the chassis was just pulled apart."

Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin was at the scene and pledged to do everything possible to help the victims.

Golukhov said about 60 ambulances were stationed at the scene, while one seriously injured passenger was evacuated by helicopter.

Television footage showed rescue workers carrying the injured away on stretchers, while paramedics treated some on nearby grass verges.

A spokesman for the emergencies ministry said in televised remarks that the accident happened when a train braked suddenly after a false alarm.

"This is the most serious man-made disaster in the Moscow underground in its entire history," infrastructure analyst Alexei Khazbiyev told AFP.

"It is the most serious accident apart from terrorist attacks."

Opened under Stalin in 1935, Moscow's ornate metro is considered the world's busiest and carries some nine million people every day.

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Strange Glow Over Moscow Skies Triggers Panic as Explosions Reported

B right flashes lit up the night sky in southern Moscow in the early hours of Thursday morning, new footage appears to show, following reports of an explosion at an electrical substation on the outskirts of the city.

Video snippets circulating on Russian-language Telegram channels show a series of flashes on the horizon of a cloudy night sky, momentarily turning the sky a number of different colors. In a clip shared by Russian outlet MSK1.ru, smoke can be seen rising from a building during the flashes lighting up the scene.

Newsweek was unable to independently verify the details of the video clips, including when and where it was filmed. The Russian Ministry of Emergency situations has been contacted via email.

Several Russian Telegram accounts said early on Thursday that residents of southern Moscow reported an explosion and a fire breaking out at an electrical substation in the Leninsky district, southeast of central Moscow.

Local authorities in the Leninsky district told Russian outlet RBC that the explosion had happened in the village of Molokovo. "All vital facilities are operating as normal," Leninsky district officials told the outlet.

The incident at the substation in Molokovo took place just before 2 a.m. local time, MSK1.ru reported.

Messages published by the ASTRA Telegram account, run by independent Russian journalists, appear to show residents close to the substation panicking as they question the bright flashes in the sky. One local resident describes seeing the bright light before losing access to electricity, with another calling the incident a "nightmare."

More than 10 villages and towns in the southeast of Moscow lost access to electricity, the ASTRA Telegram account also reported. The town of Lytkarino to the southeast of Moscow, lost electricity, wrote the eastern European-based independent outlet, Meduza.

Outages were reported in the southern Domodedovo area of the city, according to another Russian outlet, as well as power failures in western Moscow. Electricity was then restored to the areas, the Strana.ua outlet reported.

The cause of the reported explosion is not known. A Telegram account aggregating news for the Lytkarino area described the incident as "an ordinary accident at a substation."

The MSK1.ru outlet quoted a local resident who speculated that a drone may have been responsible for the explosion, but no other Russian source reported this as a possible cause.

Ukraine has repeatedly targeted Moscow with long-range aerial drones in recent months, including a dramatic wave of strikes in late May.

On Sunday, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said the region's air defense systems had intercepted an aerial drone over the city of Elektrostal, to the east of Moscow. No damage or casualties were reported, he said.

The previous day, Russian air defenses detected and shot down another drone flying over the Bogorodsky district, northeast of central Moscow, Sobyanin said.

There is currently no evidence that an aerial drone was responsible for the reported overnight explosion at the electrical substation in southern Moscow.

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Russia attacks Ukrainian electrical power facilities, including major hydro-electric plant

Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, including the country's largest hydro-electric plant, has led to widespread power outages and killed at least five people, officials say.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said more than 60 drones and about 90 rockets were used in the attack.

The attack came a day after Russia launched 31 missiles in a single attack on the capital.

It was the largest assault on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure this year and one of the largest since the war started, according to Ukrainian authorities.

"Even last winter, attacks on our energy system were not as large as they were this night," the head of energy utility Ukrenergo, Volodymyr Kudrytskyi said.

Last winter, Russia deliberately targeted Ukraine's energy infrastructure, resulting in frequent blackouts across the country.

Many had warned that Russia might repeat this strategy ahead of this winter. But instead, Russia has launched massive missile and drone attacks primarily directed at Ukraine’s defence industry.

Mr Zelenskyy has been urging Ukraine's Western allies for weeks to provide additional air defence systems and ammunition amid delays in aid from the US.

"With Russian missiles, there are no delays, like with aid packages to our state," he said. 

The attacks caused a fire at the Dnipro Hydro-electric Station, which supplies electricity to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which is Europe's largest nuclear power installation.

The main external power line to the plant was cut off, International Atomic Energy Agency head Rafael Grossi said, but Ukraine's nuclear energy operator said it was restored hours later.

The plant is occupied by Russian troops, and fighting around the plant has been a constant concern because of the potential for a nuclear accident.

Three people were killed and at least eight injured in the Russian attack, according to Zaporizhzhia regional governor Ivan Fedorov.

Attacks on energy facilities in the Kharkiv region caused blackouts, and other attacks were reported in areas of western Ukraine far from the front lines.

Two people died in the Khmelnytskyi region, according to the Internal Affairs Ministry.

"The world sees the targets of Russian terrorists as clearly as possible: power plants and energy supply lines, a hydro-electric dam, ordinary residential buildings, even a trolley bus," President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on the Telegram messaging app.

"Russia is fighting against the ordinary life of people."

Russian officials said on Friday that one person died and at least three were injured in Ukrainian shelling of areas near the border.

The governor of the Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said a woman was killed when a shell hit nearby while she was walking her dogs and that two others were injured.

The town of Tetkino in the Kursk region was shelled, injuring one person, Governor Roman Starovoit said.

Both regions have been subject to shelling and drone attacks in recent weeks and officials have said that attempts by Ukrainian fighters to cross into Russian territory have been repelled.

On Friday Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia regarded itself to be at war due to the West's intervention on Ukraine's side.

Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russians have been told to refer to the war in Ukraine as a "special military operation".

"We are in a state of war," Mr Peskov told Russian publication Arguments and Facts.

"Yes, it started out as a special military operation, but as soon as this group was formed, when the collective West became a participant in this on the side of Ukraine, it became a war for us.

"I am convinced of that. And everyone should understand this, for their internal motivation."

Kyiv missile attack injures 17

On Thursday, Russia staged its largest missile attack in weeks on Kyiv and the surrounding region, injuring at least 17 people and damaging schools, residential buildings and industrial facilities, officials said.

The air force said its defences shot down all the inbound missiles that were fired after a 44-day pause in such attacks on the Ukrainian capital.

The damage appeared to have been caused by falling debris.

"Every day and every night there is such terror. The world's unity can stop it when it helps us with air defence systems. Now we need this defence here in Ukraine," Mr Zelenskyy said on the Telegram messaging app.

City and regional officials said at least 13 people were injured in different parts of Kyiv and four more in the surrounding region. An 11-year-old girl was among four people taken to hospital, city officials said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Kyiv last week of launching attacks to disrupt the Russian presidential election that handed him six more years in power. The Kremlin leader said Ukraine would be punished for that.

Russia, which denies targeting civilians, invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, and has launched thousands of missiles and drones on Ukrainian cities and villages in attacks that have killed hundreds of civilians.

The Ukrainian military has said Russia launched over 8,000 missiles on Ukraine in the first two years of the war.

'Terrible hatred'

Air raid sirens, which warn Ukrainians to take shelter, have sounded in the capital more than 1,020 times since the start of the war, the Ukrainian military said.

The capital was under an air raid alert for nearly three hours on Thursday morning (local time).

"We feel hatred, terrible hatred. This is not fear, this is hatred towards Russia generally and everyone there in particular," Kostyantyn, a Kyiv resident, told Reuters, standing outside a damaged residential house with his wife.

His wife Alisa added: "I send greetings to my parents in Crimea who voted … They went to the elections and voted for Putin. Mum, and Dad, thank you very much that my husband and I were almost killed today. Thank you."

The Russian military used strategic bombers and also launched some missiles from its territory, Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv's military administration, said. The missiles targeted Kyiv from different directions, he added.

Kyiv city officials said that several kindergartens and schools, residential buildings and industrial sites were damaged by debris from downed Russian missiles across the city.

In the region, at least 40 private houses and two multi-storey buildings were damaged, regional officials said.

"Russia spent $US390 million ($594 million) on today's missile attack on Kyiv," Agiya Zagrebelska, head of sanctions policy at the National Agency on Corruption Prevention, told Reuters.

"This is less than 1 per cent of the amount of taxes paid by international companies to the Russian budget since the beginning of the full-scale invasion."

AP/ Reuters

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