Two dead, 12 injured in railway accident in Russia’s Amur region PHOTO

Two people were killed and 12 others injured after train carriages derailed during railway repair work in Russia’s Far East, officials said.

The accident took place on September 19 at around 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, cited by Russian media. 

Authorities said the derailment occurred while workers were replacing a rail-sleeper grid during a scheduled “technological window.” Two flatcars and a stacking crane came off the tracks while the maintenance train was in motion.

“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 said in a statement.

The Eastern Interregional Transport Investigation Department has opened a criminal case under Part 3 of Article 143 of the Russian Criminal Code, which covers violations of occupational safety requirements resulting in multiple deaths.

Railway officials said a recovery train was dispatched to the site and confirmed that the incident did not affect passenger train services.

By Sabina Mammadli