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Subway Derailment in Moscow Kills 20 Subway Derailment in Moscow Kills 20
(about 4 hours later)
MOSCOW — A morning commute ended in darkness, smoke and mayhem for passengers on the Moscow metro on Tuesday when a train derailed underground, killing at least 20 people and injuring more than 100 others. MOSCOW — A morning commute ended in darkness, smoke and mayhem for passengers on the Moscow Metro on Tuesday when a train derailed underground, killing at least 20 people and injuring more than 100 others.
Witnesses described being suddenly heaved out of their seats and landing in piles in the center of the cars as three derailed and jackknifed in a tunnel about 200 yards from the Slavyansky Boulevard metro stop. Witnesses described being suddenly heaved out of their seats and landing in piles in the center of the cars as three derailed and jackknifed in a tunnel about 200 yards from the Slavyansky Boulevard stop.
All the fatalities were in the lead car of the train, a deputy mayor told reporters. Television footage showed it crumpled as other wagons pushed into it from behind.All the fatalities were in the lead car of the train, a deputy mayor told reporters. Television footage showed it crumpled as other wagons pushed into it from behind.
Passengers posted cellphone images of people walking through a tunnel to safety.Passengers posted cellphone images of people walking through a tunnel to safety.
The cause was not immediately clear. The authorities blamed a power failure, a botched emergency stop or a mechanical flaw with a wheel chassis. Vladimir Markin, a spokesman for the Investigative Committee, ruled out terrorism. The cause was not immediately clear. The authorities blamed a power failure, a botched emergency stop or a mechanical flaw with a wheel chassis. Vladimir Markin, a spokesman for the federal Investigative Committee, ruled out terrorism.
“I was flung into the center of the wagon,” one passenger told the television station LifeNews. “A panic ensued,” the unidentified passenger said. “The train literally was torn apart, the wagons crumpled and a lot of people were injured and some wound up squeezed” between bent metal debris. “I was flung into the center of the wagon,” an unidentified passenger told the television station LifeNews. “A panic ensued,” the passenger said. “The train literally was torn apart, the wagons crumpled and a lot of people were injured and some wound up squeezed” between bent metal debris.
Lenta.ru, a news website, quoted another unidentified passenger describing a “sudden braking, the lights went out, sparks, and heavy smoke. Everybody was thrown to one side.” Lenta.ru, a news website, quoted another unidentified passenger, who described a “sudden braking, the lights went out, sparks and heavy smoke” and added, “Everybody was thrown to one side.”
Firefighters reached the wreck within six minutes, the website reported. But so mangled was the wreckage that 12 hours later, two bodies remained stuck in the crumpled train car, Rossiya 24 television reported.Firefighters reached the wreck within six minutes, the website reported. But so mangled was the wreckage that 12 hours later, two bodies remained stuck in the crumpled train car, Rossiya 24 television reported.
The television station, citing health officials, said 21 people had died. The Investigative Committee put the toll at 20. The authorities said scores of the wounded were in grave condition. The television station, citing health officials, said 21 people had died. The Investigative Committee put the toll at 20. The authorities said scores of the injured were in grave condition.
Moscow has had reason to prepare for subway emergencies. In 2010, twin suicide bombings carried out by female terrorists from the region of Dagestan killed 39 people during morning rush hour. The accident on Tuesday was the worst loss of life in the city’s metro system since that attack. The accident on Tuesday was the worst loss of life in the Moscow Metro since twin suicide bombings in 2010, carried out by female terrorists from the region of Dagestan, that killed 39 people during morning rush hour.
The news media in the capital provided were saturated with coverage of the accident, elbowing out news of the conflict in Ukraine that has fixated the media here for months.The news media in the capital provided were saturated with coverage of the accident, elbowing out news of the conflict in Ukraine that has fixated the media here for months.
The Echo of Moscow radio station interviewed a train conductor debunking the theory that a loss of electrical power could have caused a derailing. He said that an electrical commuter train would coast to a safe stop in that case.The Echo of Moscow radio station interviewed a train conductor debunking the theory that a loss of electrical power could have caused a derailing. He said that an electrical commuter train would coast to a safe stop in that case.
The news agency Interfax cited an unidentified official who was described as being close to the investigation saying that a wheel assembly had come loose from the undercarriage of the lead car. The news agency Interfax cited an unidentified official who was described as being close to the investigation as saying that a wheel assembly had come loose from the undercarriage of the lead car.
The derailing closed one of the heaviest-traveled lines of the Moscow metro, the Arbat-Pokrovsky line, which bisects the center of the city and carries on average 733,000 people a day. On weekdays about 9 million people ride the Moscow metro daily. The system that opened in 1935 is among the largest in the world, famed for its elegant stations adorned with Socialist Realist art. The derailing closed one of the heaviest-traveled lines of the Moscow Metro, the Arbat-Pokrovsky line, which bisects the center of the city and carries on average 733,000 people a day. About nine million people ride the Moscow Metro each weekday. The system, which opened in 1935, is among the largest in the world, famed for its elegant stations adorned with Socialist Realist art.
President Vladimir V. Putin, who was in Brazil for a summit meeting, ordered a criminal investigation and offered condolences to the families of the dead.President Vladimir V. Putin, who was in Brazil for a summit meeting, ordered a criminal investigation and offered condolences to the families of the dead.