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Number of injured people in collision of trains near Murmansk rises to 31

Murmansk Region Governor Andrey Chibis stated earlier in the day that one of victims in the trains’ collision died in a hospital bringing the death toll to two people

© Transport Prosecutor’s Office/TASS

MOSCOW, December 19. /TASS/. The number of injured people in the collision of freight and passenger trains in the Kandalaksha district of the Murmansk Region has increased to 31 people, including five children, the Russian Railway’s press office said in a statement on Thursday.

According to the statement, "31 people sustained injuries, including five children. Fourteen people are hospitalized with four out of them in serious condition," the statement reads.

Murmansk Region Governor Andrey Chibis stated earlier in the day that one of victims in the trains’ collision died in a hospital bringing the death toll to two people.

Dmitry Panychev, a deputy governor of the Murmansk Region and the regional health minister, told TASS earlier that five people, including two 14-year teenagers, requested medical assistance at local hospitals on their own, while two more people declined hospitalization.

The collision involved a freight train and a passenger train, which was en route from Murmansk to St. Petersburg. According to Russian Railways, there were 326 passengers on board the passenger train. The accident derailed 19 train cars, including 15 freight cars. A criminal investigation has been opened into a violation of safety rules.

An emergency management services representative said a malfunction of the freight train was suspected as the cause of the collision. Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said he would personally supervise the provision of medical assistance to the victims.

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