A bridge overpass in western Russia collapsed late Saturday, resulting in the derailment of a passenger train underneath, which led to at least seven fatalities and numerous injuries, according to officials and state news media.
In a separate incident, a second railway overpass collapsed overnight while a freight train was passing over it; however, there were no reported casualties. Both incidents occurred approximately 77 miles apart in the Bryansk and Kursk regions, which border Ukraine.
It remains unclear whether either railway disaster is connected to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
In a related development, Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, the HUR, announced that it had destroyed a Russian military train traveling toward Crimea through the Zaporizhzhia region, which is under Russian occupation. The agency claimed that the train, carrying fuel and other cargo, derailed, although this assertion has not been independently verified.
Russian and Ukrainian delegations are set to engage in the second round of face-to-face peace talks in Istanbul on Monday.
Aleksander Bogomaz, the governor of Bryansk, confirmed that seven individuals died due to the derailment in his region and reported that 47 others, including three children, were hospitalized.
Speaking on state television, Bogomaz indicated that the overpass collapse was the result of an explosion, a claim that has not been independently verified.
Russia’s road transportation agency noted on social media that the destroyed overpass in Bryansk had train tracks situated below it.
Russian Railways announced via social media that recovery trains were dispatched to manage the emergency situation. Images and videos from the scene, shared by Russian state news agencies, depicted damaged train cars and rescue personnel searching through debris.
The Bryansk area where the accident occurred is located about 50 miles north of the Russian border with Ukraine.
Additionally, Bryansk is situated just north of the Kursk region, where the other railway incident occurred overnight.
Local governor Aleksandr Khinshtein reported on social media that a bridge collapsed over a highway while a freight train was passing, resulting in injuries to one of the train drivers, who was subsequently hospitalized. No other injuries were reported, according to the Russian railway company.
President Vladimir V. Putin visited Kursk last month following a successful operation by Russian troops to expel Ukrainian forces from much of the territory they had previously occupied.