Freight train derails as result of blast in Russia's Bryansk region

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - A freight engine train derailed Tuesday in the Bryansk region of Russia because of an explosion, according to authorities.

"In the area of the Snezhetskaya railway station, an unidentified explosive device went off. There are no casualties," Governor Aleksandr Bogomaz said in a statement on Telegram.

The Russian Railways company said an engine and 20 cars went off tracks "due to the illegal interference of outsiders in the work of railway transport."

It said traffic on the Snezhetskaya -- White Shores railway section was suspended.

"Firefighting brigades are working on site, a firefighter and two recovery trains have also been sent. An operational headquarters has been set up in Russian Railways to coordinate work on eliminating the consequences of the derailment," it said.

The Bryansk region, bordering Ukraine, has been the site of incidents in recent months.

Ukrainian troops launched an offensive in the region in early March, killing a civilian and wounding a 10-year-old boy.

Russian oil company, Transneft, claimed also in March, that multiple explosive devices were found at the Druzhba oil pipeline in the western Bryansk region, and one week later, Bogomaz said Ukrainian armed forces attacked a Transneft oil pumping station using UAVs.

Last month, a Ukrainian light-engine plane crashed in the region, according to the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB).