A passenger train violently collided with a freight train in Far North Russia’s Murmansk region on Wednesday afternoon, killing at least two people and injuring dozens of others.
Around eight coaches of the St. Petersburg-bound train carrying 326 passengers derailed at the Knyazhaya train station 1,200 kilometers (770 miles) north of Moscow. Video shared by transportation law enforcement authorities showed a night-time pile-up that blocked traffic at the station.
Russian Railways said later on Thursday morning that 31 passengers were injured, including 5 children, with nearly half of them requiring hospitalization. The rail operator updated the death toll after reporting one death the day before.
“Unfortunately, another passenger died in the hospital. We offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends,” Russian Railways said in a statement early Thursday.
Murmansk region Governor Andrei Chibis said shortly after the collision on Wednesday afternoon that buses had been dispatched to evacuate the stranded passengers.
The accident may have been caused by a freight train malfunction, TASS cited another anonymous emergency source as saying. Interfax, also citing anonymous emergency sources, reported that authorities are looking into human error and a technical malfunction during bad weather as the cause of the collision.
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