Two bridges have collapsed in different border Russian regions with Ukraine, which has caused the derailment of two trains, according to the Russian authorities. One of the bridges, on a highway, collapsed in the late Saturday when a train with several hundred passengers on board approached. At least seven people have died and there are dozens of injured, the Russian Emergency Ministry and the regional authorities reported.
The Russia railroads initially published in the Telegram messaging application that the collapse of the Briansk bridge was due to an “illegal interference in the operation of the transport”, but the message was removed later. The governor of Briansk, Alexander Bogomaz, said Sunday that the infrastructure “The blasting of the bridge occurred during the circulation of the Klimov-Mudú train, in which 388 passengers were traveling. There are currently seven dead,” he told Russian television. On Telegram he indicated that 47 people were hospitalized. Among the injured there are three children, one of them in serious condition.
Andrei Klishas, a member of the Federation Council, the Upper House of the Russian Parliament, directly accused kyiv of the incident and stating in the Telegram messaging application that the Briansk incident shows that “Ukraine has long lost the attributes of a state and has become a terrorist enclave.” The Russian Channel of Telegram Baza, which usually publishes information from sources from security services and forces of the order, reported, without providing evidence, that according to preliminary information, the Briansk bridge had been fly.
The second collapse occurred early on Sunday while a merchandise train crossed the bridge, Alexander Khinshtein, governor in functions of the region, and the Russian railways on Telegram reported.
“Part of the train fell on a road located under the bridge,” Khinshtein said. He added that the locomotive caught fire, but the fire was quickly extinguished. One of the machinists suffered wounds in one leg and was transferred to a hospital next to his team, added Khinshtein, who published a photo of derailed cars on a damaged bridge on a road.
The areas of southern Russia have been subject to frequent attacks by Ukraine since the country’s Russian invasion. The outstanding Russian military blogger Semyon Pegov, who uses the name of War Gonzo, described Briansk’s collapse as “sabotage.” Reuters could not independently verify the Baza or Pegov reports.
Ukraine has not ruled over the accidents. Since the Russian invasion began in February 2022, there have been continuous cross -border bombings, drone attacks and undercover incursions of Ukraine in the regions of Briansk, Kursk and Belgorod, bordering on Ukraine.
The Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia said on Telegram that the efforts to find and rescue the victims in the Briansk incident continued throughout the night, and that some 180 troops participate in the operation. Among the deceased is the driver of the locomotive, according to Russian agencies citing medical sources.
Images and videos on social networks showed passengers trying to help others get out of the damaged bassk train cars in the dark and firefighters looking for ways to reach passengers. The train was heading from the city of Klimovo to Moscow, according to the Russian railways.
The train collided with the collapsed bridge in the one in the Vygonichskyi district of the Briansk region, according to Bogomaz Governor. The district is about 100 kilometers from the border with Ukraine.
