Russian train derailment kills at least 22
Last Updated: Friday, November 27, 2009 | 7:13 PM ET
The Associated Press
An express train carrying hundreds of passengers from Moscow to St. Petersburg derailed late Friday, killing at least 22 people and injuring dozens of others, emergency officials said.
The state-run railway company said the derailment could have been the result of sabotage, fuelling fears of terrorism.
The three rear cars of the Nevsky Express went off the tracks in Tver province northwest of Moscow, the Emergency Situations Ministry said, while Russian Railways said four cars derailed.
The ministry said 22 people were killed and 54 injured, citing preliminary information. Two news agencies reported 25 dead and 63 injured, citing regional law enforcement officials.
Russian Railways said the cause was not yet determined but one possibility was sabotage, which could mean a bomb or another deliberate action to derail the train and cause casualties. Russian news agencies cited officials as saying a small crater was found at the site of the wreck, leading to speculation that it could have been caused by explosives.
A bomb blast on the same line in 2007 derailed a passenger train and injured 27 people. Two suspects were arrested and authorities are searching for a former military officer they believe was behind the blast, but the motive was unclear. An explosion in a bathroom on a Moscow-St. Petersburg train in 1997 killed five people.
The route between Russia's capital and its No. 2 city is heavily travelled by tourists and business people. The 14-car train was carrying 633 passengers and 20 railway personnel.
