Explosions caused 2 bridges in western Russia to collapse, officials say. 7 people were killed

Explosions triggered two bridges to break down and derailed two trains in western Russia in a single day, officers mentioned Sunday, with out saying what had triggered the blasts. In one of many incidents, seven folks have been killed and dozens have been injured.

The primary bridge, in the Bryansk region on the border with Ukraine, collapsed on prime of a passenger practice on Saturday, inflicting the casualties. The practice’s driver was amongst these killed, state-run Russian Railways mentioned.

Hours later, officers mentioned a second practice derailed when the bridge beneath it collapsed within the close by Kursk area, which additionally borders Ukraine.

In that collapse, a freight practice was thrown off its rails onto the street beneath because the explosion collapsed the bridge, native performing Gov. Alexander Khinshtein mentioned Sunday. The crash sparked a hearth, however there have been no casualties, he mentioned.

Russia’s Investigative Committee, the nation’s prime prison investigation company, mentioned in a press release that explosions had triggered the 2 bridges to break down, however didn’t give additional particulars. It mentioned that it will be investigating the incidents as potential acts of terrorism.

Rescue staff cleared particles from each websites, whereas a few of these injured have been transported to Moscow for therapy. Photographs posted by authorities companies in Bryansk appeared to indicate practice carriages ripped aside and mendacity amid fallen concrete from the collapsed bridge. Different footage on social media was apparently taken from inside autos on the street that had managed to keep away from driving onto the bridge earlier than it collapsed.

Injury to railway tracks was additionally discovered Sunday by inspectors engaged on the road elsewhere within the Bryansk area, Moscow Railways mentioned in a press release. It didn’t say whether or not the harm was linked to the collapsed bridges.

Previously, some officers have accused pro-Ukrainian saboteurs of attacking Russia’s railway infrastructure. The small print surrounding such incidents, nevertheless, are restricted and can’t be independently verified.

Ukraine’s navy intelligence, identified by the Ukrainian abbreviation GUR, mentioned Sunday {that a} Russian navy freight practice carrying meals and gas had been blown up on its option to Crimea. It didn’t declare the assault was carried out by GUR or point out the bridge collapses.

The assertion mentioned Moscow’s key artery with the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia area and Crimea has been destroyed.

Russia forces have been pushing into the area of Zaporizhzhia in jap Ukraine since Moscow’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. Russia took Crimea and annexed it in 2014.

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