MOSCOW, October 26. /TASS/. A cargo train derailed on a section of the railway in Russia’s Sverdlovsk Region, followed by a fire, according to a post on the Max channel of the Sverdlovsk Railway.
TASS has compiled the main facts about the incident.
Circumstances of the incident
On October 26 at 1:30 a.m. local time (11:30 p.m. Moscow time or 8:30 p.m. GMT on October 25), several cars of the cargo train derailed and subsequently caught fire along the section between the Makartsevo and Sedelnikovo stations of the double-track electrified Reshety-Aramil line on the Sverdlovsk Railway, according to a post on the Sverdlovsk Railway’s channel on Max.
There were no casualties.
The clearance gauge of the adjacent track was damaged; traffic was suspended.
Fire and recovery trains were sent to the site.
Passenger train traffic on this section is not provided for and does not take place, the Sverdlovsk Railway noted.
Twenty cars derailed on the Reshety-Sedelnikovo section in Yekaterinburg, the press service of the Sverdlovsk Region’s Main Directorate of the Emergencies Ministry said later.
Seven rail tankers are on fire; they have been uncoupled.
The remaining cars are being towed away to a safe distance.
Some 106 people and 31 pieces of equipment were deployed to respond to the incident, including 58 people and 20 pieces of equipment from the Russian Emergencies Ministry.
The fire was contained, with flames covering an area of 1,500 square meters.
Investigation and response
Law enforcement officials have launched an investigation into the derailment of freight cars followed by a fire in the Sverdlovsk Region, according to information on the Max channel of the Central Interregional Investigative Department for Transport of Russia’s Investigative Committee.
Investigators and forensic experts have been dispatched to the site; the full circumstances of the incident are being established.
The Sverdlovsk Region’s transport prosecutor has traveled to the site of the train derailment, the press service of the Ural-based office told TASS.
Air quality in the residential area will be tested following the freight train derailment and the ignition of tanker cars, the press service of the regional office of the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing (Rospotrebnadzor) reported.