British man confirmed amongst dead in Moscow airport suicide bombing

Published on Tuesday 25 January 2011 15:57

At least one Briton was among the 35 people who died in yesterday's suicide attack on Moscow's busiest airport.

The Foreign Office confirmed the victim as Gordon Campbell Cousland today, saying it was urgently investigating reports that a second British national had died.

Russia's Emergencies Ministry said earlier that eight foreign citizens, including two Britons, were among those killed during the blast, but the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said it believed there was only one UK national among the victims.

Mr Cousland, had a six-month-old daughter and was due to get married in April, his brother said today. Although he was born to a family of five in Sleaford, the rest of his family are from Scotland.

No claim of responsibility has been made for the blast at Domodedovo Airport, which left another 110 injured.

But Chechen militants behind many other terrorist acts in Russia, including last year's double suicide bombing on the Moscow subway that killed 40, are the main suspects.

The Foreign Office in London said: "Initial indications are that one British national was killed in the explosion at Domodedovo Airport. We are in contact with next of kin and providing consular assistance.

"The consular team is continuing to investigate reports that a second British national was killed but we have no information to confirm this at this time."

Two flights from London Heathrow arrived at the airport shortly before the explosion in the crowded hall at about 4.30pm local time yesterday, while one British Airways plane en-route to the Russian capital was turned back towards the UK.

Mr Cousland's brother Robin, from Sleaford, Lincolnshire, said today: "He was going to Russia yesterday and we heard a blast reported on the radio and thought 'Oh no, he could be involved'.

"We tried to phone his mobile phone and could not get an answer. Normally when he visits a place he is pretty good at phoning to say he has arrived. As the evening went on, we heard nothing from him and began to fear the worst.

"Late last night we passed information to the Foreign Office as we thought he was missing and his company were doing the same thing and they couldn't contact him. We received word last night about it."