| Submit your comments on this article |
| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Explosion Derails Moscow-Bound Train |
| 2005-06-12 |
| A suspected terrorist bomb blast derailed a train traveling from Chechnya to Moscow on Sunday morning, injuring at least 15 people, officials said. It was a national holiday, the Day of Russia, and the blast occurred hours before President Vladimir Putin held a reception and awards ceremony in the Kremlin. Many Chechen rebel attacks have been timed for significant Russian holidays. A spokeswoman for the Federal Security Service, or FSB, said the train's driver reported that an explosion occurred on the tracks in front of the train, and that a crater and wires were found at the site about 90 miles south of Moscow. Deputy prosecutor general Nikolai Savchenko said a criminal case was opened on suspicion of terrorism and attempted murder, the Interfax news agency reported. He said investigators found signs of an explosion at the site, and Interfax quoted a deputy Moscow region governor as saying the blast was caused by a bomb containing the equivalent of 11 pounds of TNT. Federal Security Service spokeswoman Diana Shemyakina said four cars of the train went off the tracks. Savchenko said 15 people were injured, Interfax reported. He said a conductor was hospitalized with a spinal injury that was not life-threatening. Interfax later quoted a Russian Railways company spokesman as saying that five people were hospitalized, including a boy with a broken ankle, and that a total of 42 people had sought medical aid after the derailment. Russian news agencies initially reported that the derailment, which occurred shortly after 7 a.m., was caused by an explosion, but later quoted Moscow region authorities as saying a preliminary investigation indicated a technical cause. Then the Federal Security Service said it was an apparent explosion. "According to the driver, there was an explosion on the track bed in front of the train," Shemyakina said. She said there was a crater about 3 feet wide and 1 1/2 feet deep at the site, and that authorities had found wires attached to the right rail and a spot where the person who caused the blast might have been located. State-run Channel One television showed footage of the derailed cars standing at an angle. Authorities said none of the cars overturned. Emergency Situations Minister Sergei Shoigu headed to the site. Trains started traveling between the Chechen and Russian capitals only a year ago after a five-year interruption due to the war in the rebellious province. The city's central railroad station was destroyed early in the fighting, which began in September 1999, and nearby tracks were damaged. The train, which takes two days to make the trip, travels twice a week. |
| Posted by:too true |