Conflicting reports about the number of fatalities emerged in the immediate aftermath of the incident, which happened at about 10:30 a.m. (6:30 a.m. GMT), with some sources saying 10 people had lost their lives and others saying eight.
But a spokesperson with the health department said the death toll had reached double figures this afternoon. "As of 4 p.m. Moscow time [1 p.m. GMT], 49 people were hospitalized; 12 of them were discharged after being given first aid, but two [more] died," the official said.
She said 35 people were currently in the hospital, including six in critical condition and nine in serious condition.
Moscow Prosecutor Yury Syomin said earlier Friday that a turf war between commercial groups was at the center of an investigation into the bombing at the Cherkizovsky market in the northeast of the city, adding that investigators were also considering terrorism in the attack.
"An explosive device consisting of 1kg of TNT without any solid encasement exploded," he said. "The explosion occurred between two rows of metal containers. There was also a cafe nearby. Only a small area was affected."
One witness said he had seen a bag being brought to the scene before the explosion.
"We saw three people leave a bag at the market's cafe," he said. "Knowing security measures, especially with regard to unattended items, two market employees ran after the people who left the suspicious bag. At precisely that moment it exploded."
Like most markets in Moscow, many traders are from the North Caucasus region and former southern Soviet republics. Prosecutors initially investigated a turf war as being behind a September 2000 bombing that killed 13 in an underpass in the heart of Moscow, although the mayor suggested the "Chechen trace" could also be seen in the incident.
