Russians name opiate gas used in raid

RUSSIA said yesterday the gas used in its disastrous Moscow theatre raid was based on Fentanyl, a fast-acting opiate with many medical applications.

Health Minister Yuri Shevchenko said the compound was an anaesthetic and could not cause death, the news agencies reported.

The gas was used to knock out Chechen terrorists who had taken hundreds of hostages in the theatre. At least 119 of the hostage-takers' victims were felled by the gas.