At least seven dead after Russian bridge collapses onto railway
MOSCOW: At least seven people were killed and dozens injured after a bridge collapsed onto a railway in a Russian region bordering Ukraine late Saturday, officials said, in an incident the railway operator blamed on "illegal interference".
A train travelling from the Russian border town of Klimovo to the capital Moscow was derailed in the incident, authorities said, without giving details.
Videos posted on social media showed rescuers working at the site of a large mound of rubble covering what appeared to be a train belonging to national operator Russian Railways, while another showed people shouting in distress.
"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 Telegram.
At least 66 others were injured, including three children, he said, giving a revised toll.
Moscow Railways, a state-owned subsidiary, said a passenger train derailed "between Klimov and Moscow due to the collapse of a road bridge span, as a result of illegal interference in the operation of transport".
The incident happened at 10:44 pm (1944 GMT) between the Pilshino and Vygonichi stations in the Bryansk region, the national railway operator said on Telegram.
The incident did not affect other train traffic, the firm added.
In one video posted on social media, someone can be heard screaming as eyewitnesses rush to find help.
"How did the bridge collapse? There are children there!" a woman can be heard shouting in the video.
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