Saturday, media reports said that the train crash that killed dozens of people and injured 100 more was caused by a bomb, which was equal to 7 kg of TNT according to the head of Russia's Federal Security Service or FSB, Alexander Bortnikov. However, Bortnikov did not comment on who may be responsible or why anyone would want to carry out such an attack.
The 14-carriage Nevsky Express, with around 700 people on board, was jolted off the rails on Friday night on the main line between Moscow and St Petersburg. No group has publicly claimed responsibility for the blast.
Detectives found fragments of a bomb at the scene of the derailment, near the village of Uglovka about 350 km north of Moscow, and opened a criminal case under terrorism laws. A 1-meter wide crater was visible under the rails, one of which was twisted and broken.
Reports said that according to Russia's Emergency Ministry, at least 26 people had been confirmed dead, while 18 others were missing. The attack will evoke memories of a deadly series of bombings earlier this decade that targeted the Moscow metro, public buses, and passenger airliners.
Government ministers manned a crisis center coordinating the treatment of the injured. Almost 100 people were treated for injuries in hospital. Some were in a critical condition. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev issued a call for calm.
The attack is the most serious act of terror since the Beslan school siege in 2004 in which more than 330 people died when pro-Chechen radicals seized a school in southern Russia.
According to reports, a passenger list indicated most on board were Russians though a few non-Russian names were also listed. As rescuers combed the wreckage of the train yesterday afternoon searching for people who were still missing, the death count was expected to rise further.
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