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Two Moscow Construction Workers Arrested Over Fatal Subway Crash Moscow Subway Crash Laid to Track Workers’ Mistake
(about 2 hours later)
MOSCOW — The police on Wednesday arrested a senior subway track foreman and his assistant for what investigators said was faulty work that led to a Moscow metro crash on Tuesday that killed 22 people and sent another 136 to the hospital. MOSCOW — The snapping of one small, improperly installed wire caused the Moscow subway crash that killed 22 people, investigators said on Wednesday. The police arrested a senior track foreman and his assistant.
In announcing the arrests, the authorities also laid out their theory of the cause of the accident: a problem with the track traced back to the snapping of one small wire at a construction site. A new subway line is under construction near the site of the crash. When workers installed a switch that will eventually connect the new tracks to the existing line, instead of securing the switch properly, they held it in place with a piece of 3-millimeter-thick wire, according to a statement by the Investigative Committee, a Russian law enforcement organization. The wire broke, causing the accident, the statement said.
A new subway line is under construction nearby. In anticipation of connecting the old track to the new one, workers had improperly installed a switch that shifts trains from one line to another. It was held in place with a 3-millimeter-thick wire. That wire broke, causing the accident, the Investigative Committee, a powerful Russian law enforcement organization, said in a statement. Investigators identified the detained men as Valery Bashkatov and Yuri Gordov. The authorities are preparing unspecified charges against the two, the statement said. The investigators said they were also examining whether the contracting company that employed the men was licensed to work in the Moscow subway tunnels.
Investigators identified the detained men as Valery Bashkatov and Yuri Gordov, who had been servicing the railroad tracks in the tunnel. Authorities are preparing unspecified charges against the two, the statement said. The investigators were also examining whether the contracting company that employed the men was licensed to work in the Moscow subway tunnels. It was unclear whether workmen crimped the switch in place with wire to cut corners and save money, or because they did not have appropriate fasteners, or simply as a temporary measure until the new line is completed.
It was unclear whether the Russian workmen crimped the switch in place with wire to save money because they lacked the appropriate fasteners, or simply as a temporary measure until the new line opened. The Investigative Committee said on Wednesday that two more victims of the crash had died, raising the toll to 22 from the 20 reported on Tuesday, the day of the crash. Another 136 people were hospitalized, some with grave injuries.
The Investigative Committee also raised on Wednesday the death toll by two, to 22, from the total of 20 reported on Tuesday. Another 136 people were hospitalized, some with grave injuries. The derailing of the train has become the grim talk of the Russian capital. About half of all Moscow commuters ride the subway to work daily, according to city statistics, and there are widespread complaints about overcrowding. The mayor, Sergei S. Sobyanin, has made expansion of the system a centerpiece of his transportation policy.
The derailing has become the grim talk of the Russian capital. About 56 percent of all commuters ride the subway to work daily, according to city statistics. Moscow’s mayor, Sergei S. Sobyanin, has made its expansion a centerpiece of his transportation policy. That has led to complaints about overcrowding. Also touching a nerve for the Russians was the suggestion of a cavalier attitude about safety, a fatalistic view — maybe that wire will hold, or maybe it won’t — that runs deep in this country’s culture, and which many Russians recognize all too well in themselves.
Also touching a nerve for the Russians was the suggestion of a cavalier attitude about safety, a fatalistic view — maybe that wire will hold, or maybe it won’t — that runs as deep in this country’s culture, and which many Russians recognize all too well in themselves. On the streets of the Russian capital, one of the largest cities in Europe, manholes go uncovered, icicles plummet down on pedestrians in winter, and giant sinkholes caused by faulty water mains open from time to time, swallowing cars and people.
On the streets of the Russian capital, one of the largest cities in Europe, manholes go uncovered, icicles plummet on pedestrians in winter, and giant sinkholes caused by faulty water pipe installation open from time to time, swallowing cars and people alike. In a gesture to nerve-jangled riders, the entire subway system was free on Wednesday; the usual fare is about $1. The system, whose first lines opened in 1935, is among the largest in the world, famed for its elegant stations adorned with Socialist Realist art. About nine million people ride the underground trains on a typical work day.
In a gesture to nerve-jangled riders, the entire metro system on Wednesday suspended the usual fare, the equivalent of about a dollar. About 9 million people ride the underground trains on most weekdays. The system that opened in 1935 is among the largest in the world, famed for its elegant stations adorned with Socialist Realist art.