- Title: RUSSIA: Part of a Moscow metro tunnel collapses onto a train, no one hurt.
- Date: 19th March 2006
- Summary: INSIDE / VIEW OF UNDERGROUND PASS (SUBWAY) LEADING TO METRO STATION TICKET HALL/ PEOPLE OUTSIDE TICKET HALL VIEW THROUGH GLASS DOORS OF TICKET HALL/ RESCUE PERSONNEL INSIDE STATION POLICE AT MAIN ENTRANCE TO TICKET HALL VIEW OF RESCUE PERSONNEL ACCOMPANYING EVACUATED PASSENGERS IN TICKET HALL OF METRO STATION DIRECTOR OF MOSCOW METROPOLITAN RAILWAY (SOUNDBITE) (Russian)
- Embargoed: 3rd April 2006 13:00
- Keywords:
- Topics: Disasters / Accidents / Natural catastrophes,Transport
- Reuters ID: LVA2FPEBVP01NOKRBCNJACUL3R4G
- Story Text: All passengers escaped unhurt on Sunday (March 19) after part of the
tunnel roof in Moscow's underground system came loose and fell onto a moving
train, emergency services said on Sunday.
Emergency services said a section of concrete had fallen from the
tunnel roof as a train was travelling between stations north of central Moscow
and pierced one of the carriages.
Officials had said the affected carriage caught fire but Russian news
agencies, citing other officials, later said there had been no fire.
"There are no people in the station and in the tunnels. The
traffic on the (metro) line was stopped at 14:30 (local time) as a result of
the fact that during some building works (at street level) part of the (metro)
tunnel roof was damaged and this then damaged a train. There are no casualties
and no injuries and no need for medical assistance. All people from the
stations affected have been evacuated. There are no passengers in the tunnel,
and only people down there now are emergency teams and staff from the Moscow
Metropolitan railway," said Dmitry Gayev, Director of the Moscow
Metroplitan Railway.
Train services were suspended on the affected line and stations were
shut, a Reuters witness said.
The accident happened on the Zamoskvoretskaya line, about six km (four
miles) north of Moscow's city centre. The train was travelling between the
Voikovskaya and Sokol stations, heading south, officials said.
Moscow's subway system is used heavily. There are fewer passengers at
weekends than during the week but there are still usually at least a dozen
people in each carriage.
Russian news agencies quoted emergency services as saying they were
investigating whether building work on the surface had caused the tunnel to
give way.
ENDS - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2014. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None