On Monday (July 29), in southern Russia, a train carrying 800 passengers collided with a truck at a crossing, causing nine carriages to derail and at least 140 people were injured, according to Russian Railways.
The train departed from Kazan in Tatarstan and was heading to Adler, a popular tourist town on the Black Sea coast near Sochi. The train driver saw a Kamaz truck attempting to run a red light and slammed on the brakes but could not avoid the collision.
At the time of the incident, the train was traveling at a speed of 65 kilometers per hour (40 miles per hour) near Kotelnikovo in the southern Volgograd region, about 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) south of Moscow.
Russian Railways stated that “about 140 people were cut and bruised” and added that 15 people have been taken to the hospital for treatment, including 3 children.
Rescue teams and maintenance trains quickly rushed to the scene, and the affected railway section has been indefinitely suspended.
Footage released on the Mash Telegram channel shows the truck severely damaged, with a man covered in blood. The channel reported that the 43-year-old Kamaz driver Aslambek Usmatov was thrown about 15 meters (50 feet) from the impact, seriously injured and urgently taken to the hospital.
Earlier, the channel reported that two people died in the collision, but this information has not been confirmed by Russian officials. Russian Railways stated that there have been no fatalities so far.
Video released by the Russian state news agency TASS shows train carriages derailed, with some severely deformed, including one carriage seemingly thrown about 10 meters away.
“As we approached the crossing, a Kamaz truck was about 400 meters away from us,” a passenger told The Sun. “I witnessed the wreckage of five carriages – one flipped upside down, one on its side, and three tilted at a 45-degree angle.”
The Russian Emergencies Ministry stated that firefighters and rescuers are working hard to rescue trapped passengers, with nine carriages known to have derailed.
The journey of this train from Kazan to the Black Sea coastal resort town Adler lasts 47 hours.
Interior Ministry spokesperson Irina Volk said the cause of the accident is “under investigation.”
This is the second catastrophic train accident in Russia within a month.
Last month, a tourist train traveling from the desolate Arctic mining town of Vorkuta to the Black Sea resort of Novorossiysk was involved in an accident, resulting in 2 deaths and 70 injuries.
So far, there is no indication that these accidents involve deliberate sabotage.