Freight service on a rail segment in Russia’s Sverdlovsk region was suspended after 20 cars derailed from one train and a fire caused cars from another to leave the tracks, the Sverdlovsk Railway said.
Seven tank cars on the first train caught fire. The railway said cars from a second freight train, traveling in the opposite direction, then derailed on an adjacent track.
No one was injured, the railway said. Passenger trains do not operate on the affected segment.
Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations (EMERCOM) said crews separated the burning cars and a recovery train was towing 54 unburned cars away from the fire. The ministry said crews contained the blaze across an area of 1,500 square meters.
The railway said 250 staff were working on recovery at the site. It said air samples showed no elevated levels of harmful substances and that monitoring of air and soil was continuing.
The railway said the cause remained under investigation.
