Two Dead, Multiple Injured in Railway Accident in Russia’s Far East

Two people lost their lives and 12 others were injured when train carriages derailed during repair work on a railway in Russia’s Far East, officials reported.

The accident occurred on September 19 at approximately 20:40 local time (15:40 GMT+4) on the Belenkaya-Fedoseev section of the Far Eastern Railway in the Amur Region, according to the Far Eastern Transport Prosecutor’s Office, The Caspian Post reports, citing Russian media.

Authorities explained that the derailment happened while workers were replacing a rail-sleeper grid during a scheduled maintenance period known as a “technological window.” Two flatcars and a stacking crane came off the tracks as the maintenance train was moving.

“At the time of the incident, 10 workers were on one of the platforms and two others were on the stacking crane. One person died at the scene, another in hospital, while the rest sustained various injuries,” the Investigative Committee of Russia stated.

A criminal investigation has been launched by the Eastern Interregional Transport Investigation Department under Part 3 of Article 143 of the Russian Criminal Code, which addresses violations of occupational safety leading to multiple fatalities.

Railway officials confirmed that a recovery train was sent to the site and assured that passenger train services remained unaffected by the incident.