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- Tracks collided: what threatens those responsible for the train accident in the Murmansk region
Tracks collided: what threatens those responsible for the train accident in the Murmansk region
The perpetrators of the accident on the railroad in the Murmansk region and the death of two people face up to seven years in prison, lawyers believe. The incident occurred on December 18 - a freight train collided with a passenger train, more than 30 people were injured. A criminal case has been opened, the driver of the freight train and his assistant have been detained as part of the investigation. As "Izvestia" found out, in the cabin of the freight train, the main switch first caught fire, then the current collector jammed. He stopped and waited for the repair crew, but the brake shoes installed under the wheels did not hold the train, it flew out of its track and rammed a passenger train going by. What became known after the first interrogation of the suspects and how the passengers were saved - in the material "Izvestia".
What are the consequences of the collision of trains
The driver of the freight train and his assistant detained as part of the investigation of the railway accident in the Murmansk region. This was reported in the Western interregional investigative Department on transport of the IC of Russia.
The collision occurred in the evening of December 18. At the railway station Knyazhaya freight train crashed into a passenger train Murmansk-St. Petersburg. According to the latest data, the accident killed two people, 31 injured. The Ministry of Health specifies that 10 victims, including three children, are in serious condition.
The drivers of the freight train are suspected of violating the rules of safety of movement and operation of railway transport.
From the interrogation of the suspects it became known that, after they passed the station Knyazhaya, the main switch in the cabin caught fire. The locomotive was left without power and could not pull the train with 6 thousand tons of cargo.
After that, the driver and his assistant stopped the train, put five brake shoes under the wheels and started to figure out the problem. They hoped that this number of shoes would hold the train, which was standing on a slight incline, said Izvestia's source familiar with the interrogation materials.
According to the Izvestiya source, the driver told investigators that after visually inspecting the train, he saw that the left current collector was defective and reported it to the dispatcher. The dispatcher instructed him to try to lift the current collector. To do this, according to him, was not possible. And at that moment the train began to roll backwards.
The driver's assistant testified under questioning that at that moment the driver "started shouting", demanding to install additional shoes under the wheels. But it was dangerous and practically impossible to do so, given that the train had already started moving.
As a result, the train gained serious speed, flew out of its track and collided with the tail part of a passenger train, which at that time was passing by on the neighboring track.
Now the movement of trains through the station Knyazhaya restored, reported in the press service of Russian Railways. The first after the suspension was passenger train No. 11 Murmansk - St. Petersburg. The company also added that the hospitalized can count on a payment of 1 million rubles, and those passengers who sought medical help, but were not hospitalized, will be able to get 500 thousand. Money for tickets have already been returned to 296 passengers, another 25 the company is waiting for details to transfer funds.
"To the relatives of the victims the company will pay 2.2 million rubles each," - said in Russian Railways.
What happened to the passengers of the train
All the victims were taken to medical facilities in Polar Zorye, Apatity-Kirovskaya and Kandalaksha CRBs, Murmansk Region Governor Andrei Chibis said in his Telegram channel.
Maria Pryakhina, acting head physician of the Kandalaksha Central District Hospital, told Izvestia that 18 people were admitted to their medical facility after the accident and one more came on his own.
One of the passengers told Izvestia how she was lucky to survive, despite the fact that she was in close proximity to the collision site.
- It all happened so fast ... We didn't realize what was happening at first. We were in the second carriage that [the train] hit, in the outermost compartment," she explained. - The train hit the toilets behind us. By some miracle, we were unharmed.
Another interviewee of Izvestiya, Yulia, said that she was in the restaurant car at the time of the accident. At the moment of the collision, all the dishes broke there. Initially, she was told that one of the passengers pulled the stopcock.
-We went to our car. Already in the next carriage from ours all the doors were collapsed, the ceiling was collapsed, you can't get through," she said. - We crawled through somehow - and our carriage was all skewed. No belongings, no documents, nothing to take away.
A team of young hockey players from the Murmansk "Arktika" were among the first to come to the aid of the victims - they were also traveling on this train.
- We saw a man being pulled out, we took him and carried him to a warm place, - said hockey player Maxim Bondarchuk. - Then we saw a grandmother walking with heavy bags. We took her too. We carried a couple of people to the station.
Another passenger said that at the moment of the accident the lights went out, there was smoke, sparks and everything shook.
Accidents with passenger trains in 2024.
On June 26, nine cars of the passenger train Vorkuta - Novorossiysk derailed in Komi. Out of 215 people who were in it, three died and eight went to hospitals in serious condition.
What threatens those responsible for the accident
Charges can be brought against both the driver and his assistant, who operated the faulty train, and the persons who were supposed to monitor the serviceability of the train before its departure, says Anna Malafeeva, a lawyer at the Moscow-based Lobutev & Partners Bar Association.
-For violations of the rules of safety of movement and operation of railroad transport provides responsibility up to seven years in prison, - she reminded.
The victims may additionally file civil suits for damages against both the defendants and the carrier. Lawyer Vladimir Shelupakhin believes that the collision of the two trains may be blamed on the management bodies, providing logistics, i.e. the dispatching service.
- The management of the transportation company is responsible, in accordance with which the owner of the source of increased danger, which in this case is the railway transport, is obliged to compensate for the damage caused," he said.
The court will make the final decision on the punishment of the guilty from the materials collected during the investigation of the criminal case, taking into account possible mitigating and aggravating circumstances, said lawyer Dmitry Yastrebov.
