25 dead, 102 injured in Russian train derailment

MOSCOW, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- At least 25 people have been killed and 102 others injured in the derailment of a Russian express train on Friday, local media quoted emergency officials as saying.

A TV grab taken on Nov. 28 shows a scene of a train derailment near the town of Bologoye, Russia. At least 25 people have been killed and 95 others injured in a derailment of a Russian express train on Friday, local media quoted  emergency officials as saying. Four carriages of the Nevsky Express traveling from Moscow to St. Petersburg went off the tracks at 9:30 p.m. Moscow time (1830 GMT) near the town of Bologoye on the border between the Tver and  Novgorod regions, Russian Railways said.(Xinhua/Lu Jinbo)

Four carriages of the Nevsky Express traveling from Moscow to St. Petersburg went off the tracks at 9:30 p.m. Moscow time (1830 GMT) near the town of Bologoye on the border between the Tver and Novgorod regions, local media reported.

Twenty-five people were killed, including two who died in the hospital, said Emergency Situations Minister Sergei Shoigu, based on reports from officials at the scene, during a meeting televised by Vesti-24 television.

Shoigu said 87 of those injured were sent to hospitals in the area, and another 15 were taken to St. Petersburg for medical treatment.

Twenty-seven people who are known to have been on the train remain unaccounted for, the minister added.

Russian Railways said the reason behind the accident was not yet clear, but the derailment could have been caused by an act of terrorism.

The Interfax news agency cited an unnamed source with Moscow's law enforcement agencies as saying that a hole one meter in diameter was found near the scene of the accident.

"Witnesses heard a loud bang before the accident. All this could point to a possible attack," the source said.

A bomb attack hit the same line in 2007, injuring dozens of passengers.