A bomb blast, equivelant to 15 pounds of TNT, caused a Russian express train to derail killing at least 26 people as it was travelling from Moscow to St. Petersburg. As the search goes on, more deaths are expected.
RIA Novosti – Bomb caused fatal train crash – Russia’s security chief
“Preliminary information indicates that improvised device equivalent to 7 kg of TNT exploded,” Alexander Bortnikov said. Prosecutors have opened a criminal case on charges of terrorism.
The train, which can travel at 200 kilometers per hour (124 mph), was carrying some 650 passengers and 29 railroad employees.
“An unidentified explosive activated by unknown people went off,” Vladimir Yakunin, president of railroad monopoly Russian Railways (RZD), said.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has instructed Emergency Situations Minister Sergei Shoigu to take all necessary measures to extend assistance to those affected.
Fox News – Deadly Russia Train Derailment ‘Appears to Be Terrorism’
The head of the Russian Federal Security Service told the country’s news agency Interfax that traces of explosives were found at the train crash site, including chemical residue from a homemade bomb.
“We have the blast remains: a crater. There is little doubt this is terrorism,” a source in Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s office told Fox News. Who was responsible for the derailment or why it occurred “remains unclear,” the source said.