Two separate bridge collapses in Russian regions close to the Ukrainian border have left at least seven people dead and scores injured, in a series of overnight incidents that have sparked widespread concern and investigations.
The first collapse occurred in Bryansk late Saturday, when a road bridge gave way and crashed onto a moving passenger train below.
Several heavy trucks fell along with the bridge, crushing parts of the train. Bryansk Governor Alexander Bogomaz confirmed that at least seven people lost their lives, while 47 others, including a child, were taken to the hospital for treatment.
Moscow Railway, in a post on Telegram, claimed the bridge collapse was the result of “illegal interference.”
In a second incident, hours later, another bridge failed in the Zheleznogorsk district of the neighbouring Kursk region, causing a freight train to derail.
The locomotive caught fire, and one of the train’s drivers sustained leg injuries.
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“The cause of the bridge collapse will be established. All emergency services are working on the scene. I am keeping the situation under control,” acting governor Alexander Khinshtein wrote on Telegram.
Authorities have yet to confirm whether the two events are connected. Ukraine has not made any public statements regarding the incidents.
Photos circulating online from the Bryansk site show mangled train cars and dazed passengers helping each other out of the debris under the cover of night.
A separate image of the Kursk derailment shows the freight locomotive flipped upside down, with the bridge above it severely burnt.
According to Moscow’s interregional transport prosecutor’s office, a formal investigation is underway to determine the exact cause of the Bryansk collapse.
The train had been traveling from Klimovo to Moscow when the incident occurred in the Vygonichsky district.
Emergency responders deployed additional rescue personnel, light towers, and specialized equipment to the crash site, state news agency TASS reported.
Moscow Railway said the passengers were successfully evacuated and brought to a nearby station, from where they would continue their journey on a reserve train operating from Bryansk to Moscow.
The first bridge collapse site is located approximately 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the Ukrainian border.
