Train derails in Russia, 60 injured

MOSCOW (AFP) - A passenger train derailed Monday between Moscow and Saint Petersburg leaving some 60 people injured, railway officials and Russia's emergency ministry said.

"Due to an illegal interference in railway operation there was an accident on the Burga-Malaya Vishera link, with 12 carriages going off the rails," the Russian Railway agency said in a statement.

"Sixty people asked for medical aid and 20 were taken to hospitals in the Novgorod region. Two are in critical condition," said the statement.
A total of 231 tickets were sold for the train, the agency said, adding that a service team of 20 people was also on board.

The agency's spokeswoman Natalya Akafyeva was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying that the accident was possibly due to an explosion, but gave no further details.
Police sources and witnesses quoted by Russian agencies said that there was a clapping sound immediately before the accident, and a shell-hole found beneath the rails.

"There was a bit of smoke after (the accident), but the fire was quickly put out," the emergency situations ministry's spokesman Viktor Beltsov was quoted as saying by ITAR-TASS.

According to the railway agency, the train's passengers were safely evacuated from the site and would be taken to Saint Petersburg overnight.
It was not immediately clear if there were any foreigners on board.