Bomb derails train injuring 15 people

AN explosion believed caused by a terrorist bomb derailed a train travelling from Chechnya to Moscow during yesterday’s national holiday, injuring at least 15 people.

The blast occurred on the Day of Russia just hours before President Vladimir Putin held a reception and awards ceremony in the Kremlin. Many Chechen rebel attacks have been timed for significant Russian holidays.

A spokeswoman for the Federal Security Service, or FSB, said the train’s driver reported an explosion on the tracks in front of the train shortly after 7am local time, and a crater and wires were found at the site about 90 miles south of Moscow.

Deputy prosecutor general Nikolai Savchenko said a criminal case was opened on suspicion of terrorism and attempted murder. He said investigators found signs of an explosion at the site, and FSB spokesman Nikolai Zakharov said investigators believe the blast was caused by a bomb containing the equivalent of more than 6lb of TNT. FSB spokeswoman Diana Shemyakina said four cars of the train went off the tracks. Savchenko said 15 people were injured.

News agency Interfax later quoted a Russian Railways company spokesman as saying five people were hospitalised, including a boy with a broken ankle, and 42 people sought medical aid after the derailment.

Mr Putin did not refer to the bombing during the Day of Russia festivities. The holiday, formerly known as Independence Day, marks the Russian parliament’s June 12, 1990, declaration of sovereignty from the Soviet Union.

Mr Putin’s predecessor Boris Yeltsin, who led Russia’s independence drive and was elected president the same day in 1991, created the holiday 12 years ago.

Russian news agencies initially reported that the derailment was caused by an explosion, but they later quoted Moscow region authorities as saying a preliminary investigation indicated a technical cause. Then the FSB said it was an apparent explosion.