Sawt Falasteen - Police hunt for Monaco bomber after Ukraine-born tycoon wounded

Officers in Monaco and neighbouring France were hunting for a man in a black fisherman's hat who appeared in surveillance footage after leaving a package in a residential building near the border, authorities said.

The device exploded at around 9:00 pm (1900 GMT) on Monday, leaving a man and a woman seriously wounded and a 13-year-old with lighter injuries, according to the Monegasque authorities.

Monaco public prosecutor Stephane Thibault said as of Tuesday the man had been stabilised, but the woman's condition remained "life-threatening".

He said the blast was being investigated as "attempted murder" but was not being considered as a "terrorist" act.

He declined to say who was the presumed target of the blast, but several sources have said it was Ukrainian-born businessman Vadym Yermolaiev, who is a permanent resident of Monaco and has acquired Cypriot nationality.

Yermolaiev is a sanctioned multi-millionaire with a reportedly long list of enemies in his homeland.

Kyiv alleges the 58-year-old maintained an alcohol business in Russia-annexed Crimea -- paying taxes to Moscow even after it invaded Ukraine in 2022.

A source told AFP that people would have been lining up to gun the construction magnate down in Dnipro, the industrial Ukrainian city where he made his wealth.

- 'Heinous crime' -

Monaco's Minister of State Christophe Mirmand said he was not aware of any specific threats against Yermolaiev.

"The family's behaviour before entering their block of flats did not appear to show any signs of concern on their part," he told broadcaster BFMTV.

"They were dressed for summer, relaxed and did not appear to be taking any particular precautions," he added.

He earlier said the teenager was "very likely related" to the couple.

The wounded had been taken to hospital in the southern French city of Nice. A source close to the case had said the man had suffered severe burns and the woman was in critical condition.

John Bulanadi, a 19-year-old student living near the site of the incident, told AFPTV he had heard a loud explosion.

"I quickly went out onto my terrace to see what was happening. There was screaming, crying and two people on the ground," he said.

Monaco's Prince Albert II described the incident as a "heinous crime" and "a shock to the entire Monegasque community".

He and his wife Princess Charlene visited police and civil defence in the afternoon, the palace said.

- Bolts, buckshot -

Thibault said a suspect had left a bag or package in the building's lobby before leaving.

The Monaco government said the "strong explosion" was caused by a "parcel bomb".

"A suspect was seen on video surveillance fleeing towards the municipality of Beausoleil in France," it wrote on X.

Mirmand earlier said witnesses had provided information to identify the suspect.

The explosive device apparently contained bolts and buckshot, he added.

Emergency services treated four other people for shock and cuts from windows shattered in the blast, he said.

"This is the first time in history, to my knowledge, that such an act has taken place in the principality," he added.

Mirmand told a news conference late Monday that intelligences services were working to understand the victims' background and "determine if others might be facing specific threats".

Z.Ramadan--SF-PST