Collapsed bridge in Russia’s Bryansk Region was blown up – governor

A bridge that collapsed onto a moving passenger train in Russia’s Bryansk Region was deliberately blown up, local governor Aleksandr Bogomaz has said.

At least seven people were killed and 69 others wounded in the incident late on Saturday, according to Bogomaz.

“A bridge on a highway was blown up as a train with 388 passengers was moving under it,” the governor told the television channel Russia 24 on Sunday morning.

According to Bogomaz, all of the wounded were swiftly hospitalized following the incident. Two of the patients, including one child, remain in critical condition and will be flown to Moscow for further treatment.

A bridge overpass collapsed onto train tracks in Russia’s Bryansk region, derailing a Moscow-bound passenger train on Saturday evening. At least seven people were killed and 69 others injured, according to officials, who are already treating the incident as a deliberate act of sabotage.

A source in Russia’s law enforcement agencies told RT that, according to preliminary data, a section of the bridge collapsed on the tracks in front of the train, with the driver having no time to avoid the crash.

The driver and his assistant likely died immediately as a result of the collision, the source said.

According to RT’s interlocutor, a probe is now being carried out to determine if the incident was a terrorist attack.

Russian Federation Council member Andrey Klishas has blamed Kiev for the derailment, writing on Telegram that the incident confirmed that “Ukraine is being controlled by a terrorist group.”

“Ukraine has long lost the attributes of a state, turning into a terrorist enclave without borders, without legitimate authorities and laws,” he said.

The senator urged the creation of a vast buffer zone inside Ukrainian territory to make sure that “terrorists” are unable to reach Russia in the future.