At least 24 people were killed and 16 injured when a commuter train rammed a freight train near Tbilisi after a signaling mistake by railway staff, who must rely on hand signals because thieves have stolen automatic signalling devices for valuable metal parts.


Thieves have made off with many automatic signalling devices across the former Soviet Union over the last two years in order to sell their copper connecting wires and other valuable metal components, officials said Tuesday.


Such thefts were "a big problem" for Russia in 1993, especially around St. Petersburg and in other areas bordering the Baltic states, through which large amounts of metals were smuggled abroad, said Transportation Ministry spokesman Sergei Bogatsko.


Tighter border controls have sharply curtailed the thefts, which have caused no accidents in Russia but have forced delays when trains are required to halt or proceed slowly according to hand signals, he said.


Bogatsko said that while all signalling equipment stolen from major routes has been replaced, parts may still be missing on less-traveled routes. St. Petersburg area railway officials could not be reached for comment.


Estonia also suffered from thefts of signal wires, elevator parts, statues and other metal objects until border controls were tightened last year, said Ehtel Halliste, spokeswoman for the Estonian embassy in Moscow. She said the problem had caused no train crashes.


The Georgian passenger train, heading from the suburb of Rustavi to Tbilisi, the capital, crashed into a stationary freight train after station staff failed to check whether the track was clear, the deputy director of Georgia's railways, Guguly Mayduradze, told Reuters.