14 DAY TRIAL // A train went off the tracks and crashed in Krasnodar Territory, in southwest Russia leaving roughly 80 people injured on Sunday, July 7.
Xinhua notes that six people have incurred wounds requiring more extensive medical attention. At least 70 other people suffered minor injuries.
“Six people received injuries of moderate gravity while seventy others suffered minor injuries,” an official says.
The train was headed from Novosibirsk to Adler and it derailed when the heat affected the tracks. However, it was stopped in a remote area, a police source explains.
“The locomotive driver noticed that the tracks were deformed due to the heat and was forced to apply the emergency brake. [...] The consequences could’ve been much worse if this wasn’t done,” the source states.
It was traveling at high speeds, and the passengers were injured when it stopped abruptly. Five of the cars were flipped over, prompting a massive rescue operation. However, due to the location of the crash, EMTs arrived at the scene in 40 minutes.
“At the time of the crash, the train was going fast. [...] Suddenly we felt a jolt and were flying in the opposite direction. Luggage fell on top of us. The light inside the car went off,” passenger Nataliya Buligina says.
Russia Today informs that 15 people were hospitalized after the crash, five of whom were children.
“Most of the people did not understand what has happened to them. Those who got out helped those that were trapped inside,” witness Artem Popko.
“It was this construction brigade, which evacuated everybody. They took a roll call and put together the list of the passengers,” a relative of one of the passengers says.
Emergencies Ministry officials report that one-and-a-half year baby was transported to a hospital. Three of the kids that required hospital treatment incurred head injuries.