At least seven people have been killed and 31 injured after a highway bridge collapsed onto railway tracks in Bryansk, western Russia, close to the Ukrainian border, emergency services have confirmed.

The incident occurred late Saturday night when the bridge gave way, sending several heavy trucks crashing down onto a moving passenger train traveling from Klimovo to Moscow. The impact derailed the train and led to chaos as passengers scrambled to escape the wreckage in the dark.

According to Russia’s Emergencies Ministry, rescue operations are ongoing, with fire and emergency crews working to search for survivors. Additional emergency resources, including light towers and rescue equipment, were dispatched to the site overnight, state news agency TASS reported.

Graphic images shared online show mangled train carriages and injured passengers assisting one another. Bryansk Governor Alexander Bogomaz confirmed the fatalities in a Telegram post and said that among the seriously injured were a child and an adult. All injured individuals have been taken to medical facilities in the region.

Moscow Railway, which operates the route, said the collapse occurred due to “illegal interference in transport operations.” Authorities have since launched a formal investigation into the cause, led by the interregional transport prosecutor’s office.

In a separate but related incident early Sunday morning, a second bridge collapsed along the Trosna-Kalinovka highway in neighboring Kursk region. The acting governor of Kursk Oblast, Alexander Khinshtein, said a freight train was on the bridge at the time of the collapse. Part of the train fell onto the road and caught fire, leaving the driver injured with leg wounds.

The twin incidents have raised concerns over potential sabotage, although no official cause has been confirmed. Both Bryansk and Kursk regions border Ukraine and have been on heightened alert since the onset of the Russia-Ukraine war.

Moscow Railway said the passengers from the derailed train in Bryansk were evacuated and taken to a nearby station, where a replacement train was arranged to complete their journey to Moscow.

Authorities continue to assess the damage and search for additional victims as investigations proceed.

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