Dutch motorbike racer dies 3 days after accident

Dutch motorbike racer Victor Steeman has died, following Saturday’s accident at the Supersport 300 event in Portugal.

The 22-year-old collided with Kawasaki teammate José Perez Gonzalez and was taken to hospital where he died late on Tuesday.

A family statement said on Wednesday: “Something you have always been afraid of as a parent of a motorcycle racer has now happened. Our Victor could not win this last race.

“In spite of the unbearable loss and grief, we are extremely proud to share with you that our hero, through his passing, was able to save five other people by donating his organs.

In other news, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) on Wednesday said five Russians and three citizens of Ukraine and Armenia have been detained over the explosion that damaged the Crimea Bridge.

The FSB said the explosion was organised by Ukrainian military intelligence and its director, Kyrylo Budanov.

It added that the explosive device was moved from Ukraine to Russia via Bulgaria, Georgia and Armenia.

The FSB, which is the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB, also said that it had prevented Ukrainian attacks in both Moscow and the western Russian city of Bryansk.

Ukraine has not officially confirmed its involvement in the bridge blast, but some Ukrainian officials have celebrated the damage.

The explosion on the twelve-mile-long bridge destroyed one section of the road bridge, temporarily halting road traffic.

It also destroyed several fuel tankers on a train heading towards the annexed peninsula from neighbouring southern Russia.

The bridge, a prestige project personally opened by Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2018, had become logistically vital to his military campaign, with supplies to Russian troops fighting in south Ukraine channel through it.

Russian forces launched mass missile strikes against Ukrainian cities, including power supplies.

At a televised meeting of Russia’s Security Council on Monday, Putin said the strikes were a retaliation for the Crimea bridge blast, which he said had been organized by Ukraine’s secret services.