A freight train carrying grain derailed in Crimea this Thursday without causing any casualties, Russian authorities said, amid incidents regularly blamed by Moscow on Ukraine.
“In the Simferopol district, grain carriages derailed,” Crimean governor Sergei Aksionov told the Telegram social network, adding that rail traffic between Simferopol and Sevastopol, the peninsula’s two main cities, was suspended.
Media outlets Telegram Baza, Mash and 112, close to Russian authorities, said the derailment was caused by an explosion.
The Mash group specified that this explosion opened a crater 15 meters in diameter and damaged 50 meters of tracks.
In the images published by Mash, there are two carriages tilted onto a road.
Gauleiter of #Crimea Aksyonov confirmed the derailment of grain wagons.
The first photos of the accident scene appeared. pic.twitter.com/egqcIijsSK0
– NEXTA (@nexta_tv) May 18, 2023
In a statement, the local railway company claimed the incident was the result of “third party actions”.
On 1 and 2 May, two Russian freight trains derailed after an explosive device was detonated in the Bryansk region, causing no casualties.
Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014, has been regularly hit by drone attacks and incidents since last summer. In the fall, the bridge connecting the peninsula to Russia was damaged in an explosion blamed on Ukraine.
Source: DN
