At least one person was killed and more than 100 others were injured after two trams collided on a bridge in the Siberian city of Kemerovo early Thursday, local officials said.
Security camera footage shared on social media showed passengers being tossed onto a busy roadway from one of the careening trams as the driver apparently lost control of the railed vehicle.
Other videos showed the aftermath of that tram’s head-on collision with a different tram. Emergency responders could be seen working at the scene.
“Unfortunately, one victim of the crash has passed away despite the doctors’ efforts,” Kemerovo Mayor Dmitry Anisimov said in a video message.
The state-run Interfax news agency, citing anonymous emergency sources, reported that 102 people were injured as a result of the crash. The figure was later confirmed by acting Kemerovo region Governor Ilya Seredyuk.
Both Seredyuk and Mayor Anisimov said the accident highlighted the need to modernize the city’s aging tram infrastructure, with some cars being in commission for around 40 years — when Soviet leader Yuri Andropov was still in power.
Russia’s Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, opened a criminal case into safety violations following Thursday’s crash.
“For some unknown reason, the tram did not slow down on a difficult section that goes downhill,” Kemerovo’s electric transportation company KETK told Interfax earlier in the day.
“Two versions of what happened are currently being looked at: human error and technical malfunction,” it added.
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