MOSCOW, May 3. /TASS/. Russian transport prosecutors have launched a probe into Tuesday’s cargo train derailment in western Russia’s Bryansk Region, caused by an explosion on the rail track, the Moscow Inter-Regional Transport Prosecutor’s Office said.

"According to preliminary information, a detonation of an unidentified substance occurred on a rail link connecting the stations of Snezhetskaya and Belye Berega at around 8:00 p.m. today [on Tuesday]," the press office said in a statement. "Bryansk Transport Prosecutor Konstantin Tolmachev is coordinating the work of investigative and operational authorities and first responders at the site of the incident."

According to Russia’s rail operator RZD, the incident occurred at 07:47 p.m. Moscow time, on a single-track railway line, connecting the stations of Snezhetskaya and Belye Berega, east of the region’s administrative center of Bryansk. A train engine and 20 freight wagons derailed as a result, RZD press service said. Fire engines, a fire train and two repair trains have been sent to the area. RZD has set up a crisis response center to coordinate the relief effort.