Russia sees evidence of bomb for train derailment (Roundup)

Nov 28, 2009, 14:28 GMT

Rescue workers at the scene 28 November 2009 of an overturned wagon of a Moscow-St. Petersburg commuter passenger train which crashed near the village of Uglovka, Novgorod region, about 400 km northwest of Moscow, late 27 November 2009. EPA/ANATOLY MALTSEV

   Moscow - Russian investigators Saturday said that there was strong evidence of a bomb in causing the derailment of the Nevsky Express train late Friday which killed at least 26 persons and injured some 100 others.

In further indication of a terrorism-related attack, Vladimir Markin, spokesman for the investigating committee, said that fragments as well as a crater-shaped hole of more than a meter depth were indications of a bomb.

Giving a death toll of 26 - as against earlier reports of possibly at least 30 killed - he cautioned that the death toll could rise as rescue operation continued. The area had been cordoned off while law enforcement officers were conducting their work.

   The domestic secret service FSB estimated that the home-made explosive device had the power of 7 kilograms of TNT.

The details emerged as meanwhile FSB chief Alexander Bortnikov was meeting with President Dmitry Medvedev.

Medvedev demanded quick punishment for those behind the attack and promised quick help for relatives of the victims.

The express train was carrying over 650 passengers on the busy 650-kilometre route between Moscow and St. Petersburg when four of the train's 14 carriages were derailed.

Russian state TV on Saturday broadcast the emergency call made by the train driver in which he spoke of an 'explosion underneath the train.'

Other reports cited passengers as saying how they had heard a loud bang just before the derailment as the train was speeding along at 200 kilometres per hour.

Contrary to earlier indications of a bomb possibly having been placed beneath the tracks, investigators later said they believed the explosive device was planted on the train because that section of track had just been searched not long before the explosion.

In the aftermath, survivors criticised the rescue operations. They said they had to wait for more than an hour until doctors arrived and they were given little information about the situation.

While authorities were exploring the terror bomb angle, a police spokesman expressed doubts about a message posted on the internet by a radical right-wing group claiming responsibility.

   The Interior Ministry said there were foreigners on the train, and at least one Italian national was being treated in hospital.

   It was the second such incident on the same train route after an attack in August 2007 which left 60 persons injured. That attack was blamed on Chechen rebels, although it was never fully clarified.