“A grandmother was killed along with one of her grandchildren. My daughter-in-law went to the market and I still don’t know if she is alive. She hasn’t called me. I am so sorry to lose them,” she cried. “I was at home. My house is on the street nearby so I heard it. I don’t know what happened. I came here and they told me that everyone died. The people who had a fruit stand here, the woman who sold greens… they have all been killed,” she said.

Eyewitness Ernest Akadzhan said his friend works at the market as a jeweler and survived only by chance.

“They survived because they entered a shop across the street from the bombing scene right before the explosion. His mother happened to be standing behind a pillar when the bomb went off – she survived. A woman was standing in the doorway and this is what we pulled out of her leg, look!” Akadzhan said, showing a large piece of twisted debris.

RT also managed to get through to one local resident via phone, though the phone connection in Vladikavkaz is very bad at the moment as a result of the attack.

Natalya Khostroyeva said she is used to living in fear of violence.

“Central and key streets have been cordoned off. I live in the city center. We heard the blast, but couldn't tell where it came from. We learned from our neighbors that there’d been an explosion at the market. Naturally, I did not let my child go to school,” she said. “I heard that there might be a second blast, as is often the case. We are living in a tinderbox. People are being evacuated from the building and I cannot enter it. I don’t know what’s awaiting me. I cannot reach anyone. The connection is poor; it’s impossible to dial a single number – I cannot even get through to my own home. Basically, the situation is very difficult. It’s impossible to get used to it, but we have to live with it,” Khostroyeva said.