No fewer than seven people have been killed and dozens more injured after bridges collapsed in two separate regions of western Russia bordering Ukraine, authorities stated on Sunday.
The incidents, one in Bryansk and another in Kursk, triggered chaos, with rail authorities blaming at least one of the collapses on “illegal interference.”
In the Bryansk region, a road bridge collapsed onto a railway line late Saturday, derailing a passenger train traveling to Moscow.
Bryansk Governor Alexander Bogomaz confirmed in a statement on Telegram that seven people were killed in the disaster, with 66 others injured, including three children.
Videos shared on Russian social media showed emergency crews clambering over the mangled wreckage, with the sound of screams filling the air as survivors called for help.
“There are seven dead as a result of the collapse of a bridge onto railway tracks,” Bogomaz stated.
Meanwhile, in neighboring Kursk, another rail bridge collapsed overnight, this time derailing a freight train in the Zheleznogorsk district and injuring the locomotive driver.
Alexander Khinshtein, Kursk Governor, said part of the train fell onto the road below the bridge, adding that the crew was hospitalized with various injuries.
Moscow Railways, the state-owned operator, initially blamed the Bryansk incident on “illegal interference in the operation of transport,” a term often used to hint at sabotage or external attacks.
However, the company later appeared to delete the reference to interference from its official statement.
Russian prosecutors have launched investigations into both collapses, but no details on possible causes have been provided.
Kyiv has not commented on the incidents, though Russia has previously accused Ukraine of orchestrating sabotage attacks targeting its railway network, a key artery for transporting troops and equipment for its war in Ukraine.
The bridge collapses add to a growing list of infrastructure failures and attacks inside Russia since the war began in 2022. Railways, in particular, have been frequent targets.
Emergency services, including rescue teams and repair trains, were dispatched to the scenes, while ambulances were spotted at Moscow’s Kievsky railway station awaiting injured passengers from the Bryansk derailment.
The incidents also come ahead of a potential meeting between Russian and Ukrainian officials in Istanbul, as part of renewed diplomatic efforts led by the United States to seek an end to the nearly three-year-long conflict.
Seven dead, dozens injured as Russian bridges collapse in Bryansk, Kursk regions
