2 Bridge Collapses In 24 Hours, 7 Dead: Russia Says "Blasts" Caused Them

Two bridges have collapsed overnight in different parts of Russian regions bordering Ukraine, derailing trains and killing at least seven people. Russian investigators on Sunday said they believed "explosions" had caused the collapse of bridges in Kursk and Bryansk regions. 

Russian authorities have not confirmed if both incidents were related, but investigators said that  "a road bridge collapsed as a result of a blast" in the Bryansk region at 10:50 pm (local time) on Saturday, while a "railway bridge was also blown up" in the Kursk region early on Sunday, at around 3:00 am. 

The areas in Russia's south have been under frequent Ukrainian attacks during the war that started with Russia's full-scale invasion more than three years ago. 

Late on Saturday, a highway bridge collapsed onto railway tracks, derailing an approaching train in the Bryansk region. Russia's Railways initially posted on the Telegram messaging app that the Bryansk bridge collapse was the result of an "illegal interference in the operation of transport", but the post was later removed.

Russia's Ministry of Emergency Situations said on Telegram that efforts to find and rescue victims in the Bryansk incident continued throughout the night, and that some 180 personnel were involved in the operation. Among those killed was the locomotive driver, Russia's state news agencies reported, citing medics.

The collapse in the Kursk region occurred early on Sunday while a freight train was crossing the bridge. "Part of the train fell onto a road underneath the bridge," Alexander Khinshtein, acting governor of the region, and Russian Railways said on Telegram. He added that the locomotive caught fire, which was quickly extinguished.

Authorities said seven people were killed and 69 were injured in total in both incidents. Social media pictures and videos showed passengers trying to help others climb out of the Bryansk train's damaged carriages in the dark and firefighters looking for ways to reach passengers.

Andrei Klishas, a senior member of the Federation Council, Russia's upper chamber of parliament, said on the Telegram messaging app that the incident in Bryansk shows that "Ukraine has long lost the attributes of a state and has turned into a terrorist enclave."

Since the war began in February 2022, there have been continued cross-border shelling, drone strikes and covert raids from Ukraine into the Bryansk, Kursk and Belgorod regions that border Ukraine.

US President Donald Trump has urged Moscow and Kyiv to work together on a deal to end the war, and Russia has proposed a second round of face-to-face talks with Ukrainian officials in Istanbul on Monday. Ukraine has not committed to attending the talks, saying it first needed to see Russia's proposals, while a leading US senator warned Moscow it would be "hit hard" by new US sanctions.