Mosco – A passenger train derailed in western Russia on Saturday night, killing at least seven people and wounding 30, after a bridge collapsed due to what local officials described as “illegal interference.”
The bridge in the Bryansk region of Russia, which limits with Ukraine, was damaged “as a result of the illegal interference in transport operations,” said Moscow Railways in a statement, without elaborating.
The Federal Road Transport Agency of Russia, Rosavtodor, said the destroyed bridge passed on the railroad tracks where the train was traveling.
The photos published by government agencies of the scene seemed to show the passenger cars of the train shattered and lying in the middle of fallen concrete of the collapsed bridge. Other images on social networks seemed to be taken from the interior of other vehicles that avoided by little lead to the bridge before collapsing.
The regional governor of Bryansk, Alexander Bogomaz, said that emergency services and government officials were working on the scene. He said seven people died and two children were among the 30 injured.
“Everything is being done to provide all the necessary assistance to the victims,” he said. Russian officials have not said who is responsible for the incident on Saturday, but in the past some officials accused the pro-Ukrainian sabotagers of attacking Russia’s rail infrastructure. However, the details surrounding such incidents are limited and cannot be verified independently.
The Ukrainian media reported in December 2023 that kyiv’s main espionage agency had successfully carried out two explosions in a railway line in Siberia that serves as a key duct for trade between Russia and China. Ukraine security services did not comment on the reports.
Russian Railways confirmed one of the explosions described by the Ukrainian media, but did not say what he had caused. There were no comments from the Russian authorities in a second explosion.
