Casualties
At least 33 rebels and 129 hostages died during the raid or in the following days. Doctor Andrei Seltsovsky, Moscow's health committee chairman, announced that all but one of the hostages killed in the raid had died of the effects of the unknown gas rather than from gunshot wounds. The cause of death listed for all hostages was declared to be "terrorism", claiming they died from heart attacks or other physical ailments. Among the fatalities, 17 were Nord-Ost cast members, including two child actors. Of the foreign nationals, three were from Ukraine, one was American, and the others were citizens of Austria, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and the Netherlands. About 700 surviving hostages were poisoned by gas, and some of them received injuries leading to disabilities of the second and third class (by the Russian/ex-Soviet disability classification system; indicate medium- and maximum-severity and debilitation). Several Russian special forces operatives were also poisoned by the gas during the operation. According to court testimony from Prof. A. Vorobiev, Director of the Russian Academic Germology Center, most, if not all, of the deaths were caused by suffocation when hostages collapsed on chairs with heads falling back or were transported and left lying on their backs by rescue workers; in such a position, tongue prolapse causes blockage of breathing venues. Thus, some of the casualties can be attributed to accident, but at least some to unprofessional rescue efforts. The terrorists were reportedly all shot to death while unconscious by the police during the first wave of assault on the building, which was evidenced by gunshot wounds in their heads, seen in initial unedited footage of the crisis.
Some estimates have put the civilian death toll at more than 200, with 204 names on one list. Some former hostages and relatives of the victims claim that the death toll from the chemical agent is being kept secret.
Read more about this topic: Moscow Theater Hostage Crisis