MOSCOW, July 25 (Itar-Tass) —— More than 50 people have been evacuated from a village in the Novosibirsk region which was under threat of fire and explosions after a train carrying ammunition on board caught fire. Police have cordoned off the hazardous territory and organized evacuation of the population from nearby settlements under threat, the press center of the Russian Interior Ministry told Itar-Tass on Wednesday. Around 200 policemen are staying in the emergency area, it said.
A total of 52 people have been evacuated from the nearby settlement of Tikhomirovo and brought to a school building at the Duplenskaya railway station where they are staying at present, the source said. Pyrotechnicians from a special task center of the Russian Head Interior department for the Novosibirsk region have arrived in aid to army sappers, it said.
The train which caught fire numbers 72 cars, including ten cars loaded with ammunition.
Traffic on the Baikal motorway has been banned. Trains have been directed to bypass routes, said a spokesperson for the Interior Ministry. One of the train cars has been reduced to rubble, and a few more cars were damaged by the flames which were put out already. Water has been pumped onto the nearby territory.
The fire broke out on board the military train 100 kilometers away from Novosibirsk on Wednesday. The train stopped in a safe place two kilometers away from the Tikhomirovskaya crossing loop. A team of engine drivers and the train guards were evacuated from the train to a safe distance.
The train was carrying 30-mm shells for combat infantry vehicles.