MOSCOW (AP) — Three people were killed and dozens injured when a passenger train derailed in northern Russia, officials said Thursday.
The train with 14 wagons derailed on Wednesday evening in the northern Russian republic of Komi, the Russian railway company Russian Railways said in a statement, with nine wagons going off the rails. About 40 people were injured, 10 of whom were taken to hospital, state news agencies reported.
According to the Investigative Committee, Russia’s main agency investigating possible criminal cases, the body of the third victim, a 16-year-old girl, was found on Thursday afternoon.
The cause of the derailment of the train, which was carrying 232 passengers, was likely that heavy rain had washed away some of the tracks, the railway company said. It was not clear if crew negligence was a factor.
The train was headed to the southern city of Novorossiysk from Vorkuta, a coal mining town in northern Komi, Russian Railways said.
Russian Railways has promised to pay 2 million rubles (just under $22,900) to the families of each of the derailment victims, in addition to the 2.025 million rubles (about $23,100) insurance payment they will receive. The injured who were hospitalized will each receive 1 million rubles (about $11,400), and those who sought outpatient medical care will receive 500,000 rubles (about $5,700), the company said.
