 Many casualties resulted from the fact that unconscious victims' airways were blocked and sub-optimal care was given during the rescue.In particular, the failure of Russian authorities to equip their troops with opioid antidotes and their efforts to conceal the identity of the gas for days afterward hindered efforts to save the lives of the stricken hostages.On November 2 Shamil Basayev assumed responsibility for the attack and apologized to Aslan Maskhadov for not informing him of the plan.