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Blast derails Russian train
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SCI-TECH
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By Agencies
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![Investigators had found a 1.5m-by-1.5m crater under the train's ninth car [AP file picture]](http://mwcnews.net/images/stories/Russia/4/rails.jpg "Investigators had found a 1.5m-by-1.5m crater under the train's ninth car [AP file picture]") | | Investigators had found a 1.5m-by-1.5m crater under the train's ninth car [AP file picture] |
An explosion has derailed a Russian passenger train travelling from Moscow to St Petersburg, injuring at least 27 people.
The train's driver heard a loud bang from underneath the locomotive immediately before the incident happened, Alexander Pirkov, an adviser to Russian Railways' top executive, said in televised comments late on Monday.
Viktor Beltsov, a spokesman for the emergency situations ministry, said at least 27 people had been injured; three of them critically.
The derailment occurred around 9:30pm (17:30 GMT) near the city of Novgorod, about 500km northwest of Moscow.
The RIA-Novosti news agency also quoted several passengers as saying that they heard a loud bang immediately before the derailment.
Investigators were trying to determine the cause of the explosion, Pirkov said.
A statement posted later on the Russian Railways website said the derailment was due to "illegal interference in the operations of railway transportation". In all, 12 cars and a locomotive of the "Nevsky Express" derailed. The train was carrying 215 passengers and 20 crew members at the time, Pirkov said.
All traffic along the Moscow-St Petersburg route - one of the busiest for the Russian Railways network and popular with foreign tourists - was halted.
The Interfax news agency, citing an unnamed law enforcement official, said investigators had found a 1.5m-by-1.5m crater under the train's ninth car.
One passenger told NTV by telephone that some people appeared trapped in the cars, with conductors, train workers and other passengers smashing windows to try to help people as downed power lines crackled overhead.
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