Silvano Ippolito, who lives opposite the building where the explosion happened, said he heard the blast and then saw a young boy lying on the ground being helped by bystanders.

He called his wife, a doctor, who gave first aid to the critically wounded woman. "She intervened very quickly, before the emergency services arrived, to apply tourniquets and perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, as the woman was losing consciousness," Ippolito told The Associated Press.

He said a man then emerged from the building covered in blood and staggering. As he tried to make his way down the stairs, the staircase collapsed, causing him to fall onto Ippolito's wife and a firefighter.

The woman’s injuries were "a real disaster", Ippolito said. "I’m telling you, she had no foot."

• A makeshift bomb exploded at the entrance to a apartment block in Monaco at around 9pm CEST (8pm BST) on Monday, injuring three people - a man, a woman and a 13-year-old boy.
• A manhunt is under way for the suspect, who is believed to have fled on foot towards France after the attack.
• The woman is in a life-threatening condition, Monaco public prosecutor Stéphane Thibault.
• The man has been identified by French and Ukrainian media as Ukrainian construction tycoon Vadim Ermolaev.
• The woman - who was initially wrongly identified by the press as Vadim's wife Anna - reportedly lost both legs in the attack.
• Police in Monaco have opened an attempted murder investigation but are not treating the incident as terrorism.
• CCTV footage showed ⁠a man dropping a backpack at the entrance of a residential building shortly before the blast.
• Authorities described the explosive device ⁠as a "parcel bomb".
• "It appears that the family was specifically targeted," said Mirmand. He said the suspect "had walked around the area several times while waiting for the victims", according to CCTV footage.
• Security has been ramped up in Monaco in the wake of the attack.

Monaco's Minister of State Christophe Mirmand told Monaco INFO news station on Tuesday that security has been ramped up in the principality.

Monaco is about 0.8 square miles in area.

The Guardian reports that several sources dismissed the idea that the attack in Monaco could have been carried out by Ukraine's special services.

One described Vadim Ermolaev as someone with "no ideology" and "zero political views" who could not "by definition be a Russian asset".

A 19-year-old student living near the site of the explosion told AFPTV about what he witnessed.

"I quickly went out onto my terrace to see what was happening," said John Bulanadi.

"There was screaming, crying and two people on the ground."

Monaco is known for its casino, luxury yachts, tight security and lifestyle of its wealthy residents.

It is surrounded by the Mediterranean on one ⁠side and France on the other.

There are no border checks between the two countries, Reuters reports, and it is believed that the suspect fled into France.

France, Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, French Riviera, Alpes-Maritimes, Principality of Monaco.

A Monaco resident has told of her shock at hearing the noise from the explosion with a Ukrainian man identifying it immediately as a bomb.

“Never in my life did I think I’d see something like this here,” the 35-year-old Monaco woman, who lives opposite the building where the explosion occurred, told Le Figaro.

She initially thought it was a gas explosion.

"After that horrific noise, I went outside with my dog and there was glass debris everywhere in the street. The neighbors told me to pick him up," she said.

"A Ukrainian man told me he knew right away it was a bomb because he remembers the sound it makes."

Security will be stepped up at events in Monaco following the explosion on Monday.

This will include at the Monte-Carlo International Jumping competition this weekend.

Minister of State, Christophe Mirmand, said: "This strengthening of public road surveillance measures will mean having officers with long guns as a deterrant at the east and west entrances, as well as reinforced surveillance of the northern border towards Beausoleil."

He has also "requested mobile resources from the Ministry of the Interior in Paris."

The attack has shocked the country on the Mediterranean coast, one of the world’s smallest sovereign states known for its high concentration of wealthy residents.

A playground for the rich and famous, Monaco is renowned as much for its tax-friendly incentives and Formula 1 Grand Prix as its glamorous royal family.

The small principality is widely regarded as one of the safest places in the world, in part because of its network of thousands of surveillance cameras covering most public spaces.

Monaco’s population of 38,000 is multinational, with only a fifth of the population actually citizens of the principality.

Prince Albert of Monaco says the attack was a "heinous crime" which represents "a shock for the entire community in Monaco ."

He and Princess Charlene "wished to offer their support to all the security forces," according to a statement from the Palace.

The royals visited a fire station today to meet crews following the explosion on Monday night.

Albert also stated: "The Principality of Monaco will remain united and determined in the face of violence and crime. The security of our community has always been a priority."

Vadim Ermolaev is a Ukrainian-born businessman originally from the city of Dnipro who built his fortune through the Alef Group, a diversified business that includes commercial real estate, manufacturing and agriculture.

He became one of the country’s best-known property developers, leading projects that reshaped parts of Dnipro’s city centre. He has regularly appeared in rankings of Ukraine’s wealthiest entrepreneurs.

In an interview with Forbes Ukraine, Ermolaev said he renounced his Ukrainian citizenship and became a Cypriot citizen in 2017.

In December 2023, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky imposed sanctions on Ermolaev as part of a broader package targeting individuals and companies Kyiv said had business links to Russia or Russian-occupied territories.

The Cyprus Registrar of Companies lists a man called Vadym Iermolaiev as the director of Vespano Ltd, a company in the Cypriot city of Limassol first registered in January 2019.

Russia has a long history of targeting its enemies abroad, and Western intelligence officials have recently said that a campaign of targeted killings has ramped up since President Vladimir Putin’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Ukraine is also believed to have carried out attacks and targeted killings of Russian figures in the course of the war, although those attacks have largely been confined to Ukrainian or Russian territory.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said its embassy in France, which is also responsible for Monaco, was in touch with local authorities. Ukrainian diplomats were at the scene providing assistance, it said.

Vadim Ermolaev son Artur was reportedly convicted of fraud in Estonia in April.

According to court documents he pleaded guilty to running a phone scam scheme which, involving fake investment opportunities, and stole around 100 million euros between 2019 and 2022.

He was sentenced to five years in prison, but reached a deal under where he would be deported from Estonia after serving four months.

The woman severely injured in the Monaco explosion was not Anna Ermolaev, according to reports in Ukraine.

State media outlet Suspline has said that the 56-year-old wife was at another location at the time of the blast and it is unclear who was the woman that is now fighting for her life in a Nice hospital.

The outlet quoted Anna as saying: “We are currently in a state of severe stress and are actively cooperating with the investigation and law enforcement agencies.”

While Ukrainian journalist Anatoly Shariy said: “During the explosion with Ermolaev, it was not his wife. It was this woman who lost her legs and is on the brink of life and death.”

Police at the scene following the explosion(Image: AFP via Getty Images)

Ukrainian oligarch Vadim Ermolaev may have been targeted due to his alleged links to a £75million call centre fraud scheme.

Police in Ukraine say that the Ermolaev family has allegedly played a role in a fraudulent operation involving call centres in Dnipro and financial scams around Europe.

It is claimed that "boiler rooms" have been operating which have defrauded investors in countries including Germany and Estonia between 2019 and 2022, via cryptocurrency schemes.

Ukrainian law enforcement sources say that French investigators believe that the assassination attempt could have been planned by a criminal gang seeking retaliation, reported Nice-Matin.

Anna Ermolaev appears to be the most severely injured and she continues to fight for her life at a Nice hospital after having her legs amputated.

While Vadim Ermolaev has been transferred to a hospital in Marseille, reports Nice-Matin.

Monaco's Attorney General, Stéphane Thibault says that police are "in pursuit" of the suspect and that an arrest could "happen quite quickly" given the resources deployed.

He told a press conference that French law enforcement are cooperating with those in Monaco.

There are many theories still being considered but one of the most likely appears to be that he has escaped to Italy. From Beausoleil, it is only around seven miles to the border with Italy.

Monaco's Minister of State Christophe Mirmand did not name the victims of the attack but said they had not shown any signs that they were in danger.

Ukrainian oligarch Vadim Ermolaev along with his wife and 13-year-old son were injured in the explosion in Monaco.

Minister of State Christophe Mirmand, the head of the Monaco government, said "the family's behaviour before entering their building did not seem to show any sign of concern on their part.

"They were dressed in summer clothes, relaxed and did not seem particularly cautious."

And again without naming Ermolaev, Monaco's Attorney General, Stéphane Thibault, said the man "has been a resident of Monaco since 2021, we have no investigation concerning him in Monaco and to our knowledge, he is not wanted by a foreign authority".

Police at the scene following the explosion(Image: AFP via Getty Images)

Images from CCTV shows the suspect wearing beige trousers, a black jacket, and a black hat that partially obscures his face but little more information appears to be known about him.

Monaco's Attorney General, Stéphane Thibault said: "We have absolutely no idea at this time whether the person being sought has received outside help or not."

A massive operation continues involving French and Monaco police to find the man. Investigations are being carried out by the Monaco Public Security Service and the public prosecutor in Nice.

The suspect was seen on CCTV heading from Monaco into Beausoleil in France. "He fled on foot," said Mr Thibault. "We did not apprehend him."

A witness has told of the horrifying scene he saw following the explosion which left Ukrainian businessman Vadim Ermolaev and his wife badly injured while their 13-year-old son was not as badly hurt.

Silvano, a Monaco resident, told BFMTV that Anna Ermolaev, 56, "lost her feet" in the blast and she is now understood to have had her legs amputated in hospital.

"She was slumped over, covered in blood," he said.

Vadim Ermolaev was hit by shrapnel from the bomb and suffered burns but was reportedly conscious when he was taken to a hospital in Nice.

A sheet covering the scene after the explosion(Image: AFP via Getty Images)

A resident says that the street suddenly became like a war zone after the explosion with debris on her balcony.

“We were watching a match when we heard the explosion,” the woman told French media.

She said that her husband went outside to see what happened while she remained inside with her children, “who were terrified and started crying .”

The 49-year-old added: “It was like a war zone in the street. My neighbor and I found pieces of the wall on our balconies.”

Ukraine's foreign ministry has said it is in contact with the authorities in Monaco following yesterday's bomb attack, which it said injured three people of Ukrainian origin.

The ministry said the three victims belong to the same family, citing information from local emergency services, but did not confirm their identities.

Authorities in France and Monaco have also not yet confirmed the identities of the victims.

Monaco public prosecutor Stéphane Thibault said earlier today that there were "two other collateral victims" who sustained cuts after shards of glass from shop windows shattered in the force of the blast.

Emergency services also treated two people for shock, Minister of State Christophe Mirmand said. They were a domestic worker and a caretaker who witnessed the woman’s injuries, according to French media.

The explosion at the Ermolaevs' apartment block on Rue Révérend Père Louis Frolla was "like a thunderbolt", a Hungarian tourist on holiday in Monaco told French newspaper Le Figaro. "I never thought it could happen here."

The explosion happened as the family entered their apartment block on Rue Révérend Père Louis Frolla at around 9pm local time on Monday(Image: AFP via Getty Images)

Anna Ermolaev, 56, is reported to be in a critical condition in a hospital in Nice after yesterday's bomb attack in Monaco.

She is understood to have lost both legs in the blast, which also injured her husband, Vadim Ermolaev, and their 13-year-old son.

Police have launched a manhunt for the perpetrator, with authorities saying the Ermolaev family was "specifically targeted".

Ermolaev is one of Ukraine's best-known property developers, having led projects that reshaped parts of the city centre of Dnipro. He has regularly appeared in rankings of Ukraine's wealthiest businesspeople. He renounced his Ukrainian citizenship and became a Cypriot citizen in 2019.

In December 2023, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky imposed sanctions on Ermolaev as part of a broader package targeting individuals and companies that Kyiv said had business links to Russia or Russian-occupied territories.

Anna Ermolaev, 56(Image: East2West)

Around 15 detectives from the Alpes-Maritimes Interdepartmental Judicial Police Service have been deployed to assist with the investigation, according to French broadcaster BFM TV.

In a post on X, Alpes-Maritimes Prefect Laurent Hottiaux said his "thoughts are with the victims and their loved ones" following last night's explosion.

The map below shows Rue Révérend Père Louis Frolla, where a makeshift bomb detonated at the entrance to an apartment block, injuring two adults and a 13-year-old boy.

The explosion happened at around 9pm local time (8pm BST) yesterday and was felt by a number of residents in Monaco, the world's second-smallest independent state.

CCTV footage shows the three victims "returning home peacefully" yesterday evening before the attack unfolded, said Christophe Mirmand, Monaco's minister of state.

"They were caught in the explosion as they crossed the threshold of their apartment building," he said.

The victims are "regular" residents of Monaco, but authorities do not yet know whether the family had been threatened in the past, Mirmand said.

"It appears that the family was specifically targeted," he stressed, noting that the suspect "had walked around the area several times while waiting for the victims", according to CCTV.

"In the minutes before the explosion, he was apparently waiting for the victims."

The family 'were caught in the explosion as they crossed the threshold of their apartment building', said Christophe Mirmand(Image: AFP via Getty Images)

• The man who placed an explosive device that injured three people acted alone and remains at large, Monaco public prosecutor Stéphane Thibault told reporters.
• Police in Monaco have opened an attempted murder investigation into the incident but are not treating it as terrorism. The motive remains unclear.
• One of the three victims is a woman who is in a life-threatening condition, Thibault said.
• The other victims are a man who is no longer in a life-threatening condition and a child whose life is not in danger, the prosecutor added.
• Authorities did not confirm the victims' identities.
• The suspect fled to neighbouring France, Minister of State Christophe Mirmand said.