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Commission set up to investigate incident in Moscow metro

The line was paralyzed for almost six hours

MOSCOW, June 5 (Itar-Tass) - A special commission has been set up to investigate Wednesday’s incident in the Moscow metro that paralyzed the central half of the Sokolnicheskaya line for half a day, the Moscow transport department said.

"We have set up a commission to investigate the causes. The Moscow government will take the investigation under personal control in order to avert such incidents in future. We are also planning to renovate job descriptions for metro employees in part of reaction to emergency situations,” Moscow Vice-Mayor Maxim Liksutov said.

A cable ignited in the tunnel, filling it with smoke, between the Okhotnyi Ryad and Lenin’s Library metro stations at 08:17 in the morning on Wednesday. As a result, 4,500 people were evacuated from the metro.

The line was paralyzed for almost six hours. Seventeen people, including a 15-year-old girl, were hospitalized. Seventy-six people have asked for medical aid by now.

Forty buses and trolley-buses helped taking people to work until the train movement was fully restored at 14:10 Moscow time.