Seven dead after saboteurs bring down Russian bridge in front of train
A bridge collapsed in front of an oncoming passenger train in Russia’s Bryansk Region on Sunday, killing seven people and injuring at least 69 others, the region's governor Alexander Bogomaz has said.
While the exact cause of the incident remains unknown, Russian Railways said the bridge pillar collapsed due to “illegal interference with transport operations.”
The newspaper Izvestia cited a source who said the bridge may have been brought down by an explosion. However, emergency services and prosecutors have not confirmed that a blast occurred.
Multiple Telegram news channels have suggested that the collapse was likely caused by sabotage.
Bogomaz has not yet disclosed the number of victims, saying that "everything necessary is being done to provide assistance" to them.
Videos circulating in Telegram show a crushed train carriage with passengers being evacuated through shattered windows, and emergency services responding at the scene. The collapse also reportedly affected vehicles on the bridge, which fell onto the railway below.
Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations (MChS) reported that fire and rescue units are actively working at the site of the bridge collapse. “All necessary assistance is being provided to the victims. Additional MChS forces, emergency rescue equipment, and lighting towers for nighttime operations have been deployed to the area,” the ministry noted in an official statement.
Just days earlier, a freight train in Russia’s Belgorod Region ran over an explosive device planted under the tracks, causing a powerful blast. According to the governor Vyacheslav Gladkov, the explosion damaged the railway’s contact network but caused no casualties.
Both Bryansk Region and Belgorod Region border Ukraine and have seen numerous attacks.
