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 316 people and 35 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.

The regional office of the Emergencies Ministry reported later that the open flames had been extinguished.

It also specified that 39 cars had derailed.

Recovery operations

The Sverdlovsk Railway is carrying out recovery operations and monitoring the environmental situation at the site of train cars’ derailment in the Sverdlovsk Region, the press service reported.

Recovery and fire trains, along with other specialized equipment, are operating at the scene, with 250 personnel of the Sverdlovsk Railway involved.

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.

No excessive levels of harmful substances in the air or threats to the environment have been recorded, the press service of the Sverdlovsk Railway reported.

Monitoring of air and soil conditions will continue until the aftermath of the incident is completely cleared, the report said.

No excessive levels of harmful substances have been detected in the air in populated areas near the site where the tanker cars caught fire, the press service of the regional office of the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing (Rospotrebnadzor) said.

The Service continues to monitor air quality.