Last night, a bridge collapsed in the Bryansk region of Russia, near the border with Ukraine, causing a passenger train to crash into it and derail. According to regional governor Alexander Bogomaz, at least seven people were killed. Forty-four of the 69 injured were taken to hospital. Three children were also injured, one seriously. According to the RIA Novosti news agency, the train driver is among the deceased. The governor said the bridge collapsed due to an explosion.
He added that the bridge collapsed in the Vygonichsky district, where a federal highway runs.
Photos released by government agencies show destroyed cars lying among the rubble of the collapsed bridge. The AP news agency reported that other images from social media were apparently taken from cars that narrowly avoided driving onto the bridge before it collapsed.
These photos also show passengers trying to help others escape from the damaged carriages in the dark.
The Russian Telegram channel Baza, which often publishes information from security sources, wrote that, according to preliminary reports, the bridge had been blown up.
Another bridge collapsed in Russia's Kursk region
According to TASS and Reuters, one of the train drivers was injured.
Part of the train fell onto the road below the bridge. A fire broke out on the locomotive, which emergency services quickly contained. The rest of the train remained on the railway bridge,” TASS quoted Alexander Khinshtein, the governor of the Kursk region, as saying.
A photo from the scene shows the derailed section of the train balancing on the damaged bridge.
“According to preliminary information, one of the locomotive drivers has injured his legs, and the entire crew has been taken to hospital. They are under medical supervision,” the governor said.
