At least seven people were killed and 69 injured when a highway bridge collapsed onto railway tracks, derailing an approaching train in Russia’s Bryansk region that borders Ukraine, Russian authorities said early on Sunday.
Russia’s Railways had initially said on the Telegram messaging app that the bridge collapse was the result of an “illegal interference in the operation of transport,” but it has since removed the post.
A passenger train derailed as a result of a bridge collapse in the Vygonichsky District of the Bryansk Region. Seven people were killed and 33 were injured.
TASS has assembled the main facts about the incident:https://t.co/fekDvGSn7z pic.twitter.com/fBbfH3yB37
— TASS (@tassagency_en) June 1, 2025
Alexander Bogomaz, the governor of the Bryansk region, said on Telegram that 44 people were hospitalized.
Three children were among those injured with one in serious condition, he added.
Read: Russia says awaiting Ukraine’s response
“All necessary assistance is being provided to the victims,” he said.
According to NBC news, while Russian authorities have not identified those responsible for Saturday’s incident, some officials in the past have blamed pro-Ukrainian saboteurs for targeting the country’s railway infrastructure.
However, details about such claims remain scarce and cannot be independently confirmed.
Russia’s ministry of emergency situations said on Telegram that efforts to find and rescue victims continued throughout the night, and that some 180 personnel were involved in the operation.
Among those killed was the locomotive driver, Russia’s state news agencies reported, citing medics.
Social media pictures and videos showed passengers trying to help others climb out of the train’s damaged carriages in the dark and firefighters looking for ways to reach passengers.
US President Donald Trump has urged Moscow and Kyiv to work together on a deal to end the war, and Russia has proposed a second round of face-to-face talks with Ukrainian officials next week in Istanbul.
Ukraine is yet to commit to attending the talks on Monday, saying it first needed to see Russian proposals, while a leading US senator warned Moscow it would be “hit hard” by new US sanctions.
