Moscow massacre rock band loses member of its own backstage team in horrific terror attack that left more than 140 dead

The rock band that played a concert in Moscow when gunmen stormed the venue lost one of its members backstage in the horrific terror attack that left more than 140 people dead.

The group ‘Piknik’ was giving a concert at Crocus City Hall in Moscow when four gunmen started shooting at people. More than 140 people died, but only 62 bodies have been formally identified so far.

Among those who tragically lost their lives in the massacre was the rock band’s deputy leader, Ekaterina Gennadievna Kushner.

She had been missing since Friday’s attack and her devastated husband, with whom she shared a daughter, identified her body today.

In a tribute to their ‘great friend’ Ekaterina, who sold the band’s merchandise during shows, the group said her memory burned brightly.

Piknik director Yuri Chernyshevsky previously told the group’s nearly 60,000 followers on Instagram that Ekaterina, who her friends call Katya, was missing, saying at the time there was “hope.”

Yuri said on Saturday, when the sad news of Ekaterina’s death had not yet been confirmed: ‘Katya is my personal friend and a very close person to me. We have been working with her for many years, both in the Melnitsa group and in the Piknik group.

“I am in contact with her family and we are not willing to believe the worst, knowing that Katya is a very strong and fighting person.”

The rock group’s singer, Edmund Shklyarsky, also spoke out about the attack and sent his condolences to the victims.

He said: “Dear friends, we are addressing all those who obviously did not want it, but were forced to endure this terrifying tragedy, which made no sense at all.”

‘Evidently there are no words that can revive or console people. We send our condolences to everyone and their families. The only thing to do is wait for peace of mind.

‘As I said, I don’t believe there are still words that can resurrect or bring peace. They haven’t thought about these words yet.

In another post, the group added: “The entire Piknik team expresses its deepest condolences to the families and friends of the victims.

‘We pray for the speedy recovery of the victims. “We are deeply shocked by this terrible tragedy and we cry with you.”

A former beauty queen was also among the more than 130 victims of the attack.

Ekaterina Novoselova, 42, was listed by the Russian Health Ministry as having died in the attack on Crocus City Hall. She had won beauty pageants in 2001 in her native Tver and was recently living in Moscow.

Another victim was Natalia Zudina, 44, a graduate of the Ural State University of Economics, originally from Yekaterinburg.

Pavel Okishev, 34, who was just days away from turning 35, and his wife, photographer Irina Okisheva, 33, were reported murdered. The couple were originally from Kirov and had been together since 2012.

Among the injured is an eight-year-old boy who is in critical condition in hospital.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack, which It was the deadliest in Russia in years and left the 6,000-capacity concert hall in Krasnogorsk, outside Moscow, in flames and with the roof collapsing.

Russian state television editor Margarita Simonyan said today that the death toll had risen to 143, but did not provide the source of her information.

Alexander Semenov, 45, was general director of a company that produced construction materials. He was also killed in the massacre.

Sergei Laptev, 48, killed in Crocus City, was originally from Shtormove in the mainly occupied Luhansk region of Ukraine.

Roman Sokolov, 47, is on the list of those who perished in the attack on Crocus City Hall in Moscow published by the Ministry of Health.

He graduated from the Moscow State Technical University of Civil Aviation. He died on his birthday.

Viktoria Ladeishchikova, 46, was originally from the Sverdlovsk region of Russia and practiced yoga. Her daughter survives him.

Some 28 bodies were reportedly found in one of the Crocus Town Hall bathrooms and 14 bodies were found in an evacuation staircase.

People were left lying in families and some died in a hug, since many mothers were found hugging their children, the Baza media reported.

The attack took place as a crowd gathered to attend a performance by Russian rock band Piknik.

Russian President Vladimir Putin revealed today that the four assailants who carried out the ‘barbaric terrorist act’ had been ‘captured and detained’ and warned that all those responsible ‘would be punished’.

Putin said the attackers had tried to escape into Ukraine and that preliminary information showed that some people on the Ukrainian side had prepared to let them cross the border from Russia.

The Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin was informed minutes after the attackers stormed the scene.

Video of Friday’s attack showed the building in flames, with a huge cloud of smoke rising into the night sky.

The street was illuminated by the flashing blue lights of dozens of fire trucks, ambulances and other emergency vehicles, as fire helicopters flew overhead to drop water on the blaze that took hours to contain.

Other videos posted by Russian media and on messaging app channels showed men carrying assault rifles shooting at screaming people at point-blank range.

A video showed a man in the auditorium saying that the attackers had set him on fire, while incessant gunshots could be heard.