Breaking on GMB at Christmas: Good Morning Britain halted for tragic breaking news announcement

This is a breaking news story being updated (Image: EXPRESS)

Good Morning Britain was suddenly interrupted on Christmas Eve to deliver an urgent and tragic breaking news alert that left ITV viewers reeling.

Presenter Sean Fletcher cut into the festive instalment of the show to report that three people had been killed in a deadly explosion in Moscow, including two police officers. The blast took place on Wednesday, December 24 — just days after another bomb attack killed a senior Russian general in the same area.

According to a statement from Investigative Committee spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko, two traffic police officers were approaching what was described as a “suspicious individual” when an explosive device detonated. Forensic experts and investigators are now working at the scene as the investigation continues.

Sean Fletcher delivered the breaking announcement (Image: ITV)

Delivering the news live on air, Fletcher told viewers:
“I’ve got some breaking news to bring you. Three people have been killed by a bomb explosion in Moscow.”

The location of the blast is believed to be close to the site where Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov was killed by a car bomb on Monday morning (December 22). Sarvarov, who headed the Operational Training Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces’ General Staff, died when an explosive device detonated underneath his vehicle in southern Moscow.

Russian investigators have stated that Ukraine may have been behind the attack, though there has been no official response from Ukraine at this stage.

Russia’s state investigative committee said that as the officers moved closer to the explosive device, it was triggered, killing them instantly along with another individual. Authorities are continuing to piece together the circumstances surrounding the attack.

The breaking alert follows a growing wave of violence in the Russian capital, with Moscow already on edge after the high-profile assassination of the senior general earlier this week.

Good Morning Britain, which normally airs weekday mornings from 6am to 9am on ITV and ITVX, resumed after the update, but the sombre announcement cast a shadow over what is usually a lighter Christmas Eve broadcast.