Monaco explosion: Ukrainian oligarch Vadim Ermolaev 'among three injured'

One of the victims of an explosion in Monaco has been identified as a billionaire Ukrainian oligarch, according to local reports.

One victim was named locally by Monaco Matin news outlet as Vadim Ermolaev, one of Ukraine’s wealthiest men. It is understood that he fled the country following the most recent outbreak of conflict with Russia.

The remaining victims are believed to be a woman aged in her 50s or 60s and a teenage boy.

Monaco police are currently hunting a suspect.

According to French media, CCTV footage captured the moment a man deposited a backpack at the entrance of a residential building shortly before the explosion.

Images circulating across social media show the individual believed to be the suspect dressed in a black long-sleeved top and bucket hat with khaki bottoms.

No official identification has been released at this time.

The suspect remains at large but has been tracked via security cameras moving through Monaco and into Beausoleil.

Officers from the Nice Anti-Crime Squad, along with emergency response units from Nice and Menton, have been deployed to reinforce the Beausoleil area.

Monaco’s Minister of State has described the incident as “likely to be an attack”, adding that the explosive device is thought to have contained bolts and shrapnel.

“Police services are currently gathering evidence,” he said. “To my knowledge, this is the first time in history that such an act has occurred in the Principality.”