Numerous Killed As Bridges Collapse In Russia
By Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau Chief
KYIV/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Residents were reeling Wednesday from the collapse of two bridges in Russian regions bordering Ukraine that killed seven people after authorities said they were “caused by explosions” in “acts of terrorism.”
In Russia’s Bryansk region bordering Ukraine, a blast caused a road bridge to collapse onto a railway line late Saturday, derailing a passenger train heading to Moscow and killing seven people, authorities said.
A separate rail bridge in the neighboring Kursk region was blown up hours later in the early hours of Sunday, derailing a freight train and reportedly injuring the driver.
Authorities did not say who was behind the explosions, but investigators said a criminal inquiry was underway.
However, Ukraine has been blamed for several attacks on Russia, including attacks on numerous military air bases across the country over the weekend that destroyed billions of dollars in military planes and facilities.
The Kremlin said that Russian President Vladimir Putin was briefed on the incidents throughout the night on the latest attacks against bridges. He has pledged to retaliate for these and other suspected Ukrainian attacks.
Videos posted on social media from the Bryansk region showed rescuers clambering over the mangled chassis of a train belonging to national operator Russian Railways. At the same time, screams could be heard in another video.
SEVEN DEAD
“There are seven dead as a result of the collapse of a bridge onto railway tracks,” Alexander Bogomaz, the Bryansk region’s governor, wrote on the social media platform Telegram.
Additionally, at least 71 people were injured, 44 of whom were in hospital, he told reporters.
In the incident in the Kursk region, a rail bridge collapsed onto a road, derailing a freight train.
“Last night… in the Zheleznogorsk district, a bridge collapsed while a freight locomotive was passing. Part of the train fell onto the road below the bridge,” Kursk region governor Alexander Khinshtein said on Telegram.
“One of the locomotive drivers suffered leg injuries, and the entire crew was taken to hospital,” he said.
A spokeswoman for Russia’s Investigative Committee said the incidents had been “classified as acts of terrorism” without elaborating.
But senior ruling party lawmaker Andrey Klishas blamed Ukraine, describing it as a “terrorist enclave.”
STRATEGIC TARGETS
Ukraine, which Russia has blamed for previous incidents, did not immediately comment.
Kyiv says Russia uses railroads to transport troops and weaponry to its forces fighting in Ukraine, which it invaded in February 2022.
As fighting continues, relatives waiting for loved ones arrive from the Bryansk region at a station in central Moscow. “Russian Railways said that those who had survived would be coming here,” said 30-year-old entrepreneur Sergey Trinkinets.
“My dad finally got in touch. He said he had some bruises and wasn’t feeling very well, so I came to meet him,” he told reporters.
In one video posted on social media, purportedly taken at the scene of the incident in the Bryansk region, someone could be heard screaming as eyewitnesses rushed to find help.
“How did the bridge collapse? There are children there!” a woman shouted in the video.
Moscow’s three-year assault on Ukraine is believed to have killed and injured more than a million people. Russia currently occupies around a fifth of its neighbor, far less than Moscow expected in more than three years of fighting.
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