2009 Nevsky Express bombing

2009 Nevsky Express bombing

Coordinates: 58°7′33″N 33°40′25″E / 58.12583°N 33.67361°E / 58.12583; 33.67361

2009 Nevsky Express bombing
Ru-nrg-okulovsky loc.svg
Uglovka, Okulovsky municipal district, Novgorod Oblast, Russia
Details
Date 27 November 2009
Time 21:25[1]/21:30[2][3]/21:34[4]/21:35[5]/21:48[6] MSK (UTC+3)
Location Between Alyoshinka and Uglovka, Novgorod Oblast
Country Russia
Rail line Oktyabrskaya Railway
Operator Russian Railways
Type of incident Derailment
Cause Terrorist act, bombing (7 kilograms (15 lb) in TNT equivalent)[7]
Statistics
Trains 1
Passengers 660+[1]
Deaths 28[8]
Injuries 96[9] + 1[10]
Damage 1 km of railway, 4 carriages[11][12]
Electric locomotive Škoda ChS200 (66E) with "Nevsky Express" train
Conference with Vladimir Yakunin
Special meeting with Dmitry Medvedev

The 2009 Nevsky Express bombing occurred on 27 November 2009 when a bomb exploded[13] under a high speed train travelling between the Russian cities of Moscow and Saint Petersburg causing derailment near the town of Bologoye, Tver Oblast (approximately 200 miles or 320 kilometres from Moscow), on the Moscow–Saint Petersburg Railway. The derailment occurred at 21:34 local time (18:34 UTC).[14] Russian officials had stated that 39 people were killed and 95 injured but later retracted the death toll, with 27 deaths reported as of December 2.[10] A second bomb exploded at the scene of the investigation the following day, injuring one. It was reported to have been triggered by a remote mobile phone.[15]

The first respondents were residents of Lykoshino, a nearby village.[16] A field hospital was set up to treat the wounded[17] and at least 50 were hospitalised in Saint Petersburg.[18] It is believed that, at the time of the derailment, the Nevsky Express was carrying 661 passengers in 13 carriages, of which the last four were thought to have been affected by the incident.[11][12] Although initial reports blamed an electrical fault for the derailment, investigation showed that the derailment may have been caused by an act of terrorism; a crater was found in the ground near the crash site.[18]

The government confirmed that the accident was caused by terrorists, making this attack Russia's deadliest outside the North Caucasus region since the 2004 Russian aircraft bombings.[19]

Contents

Cause

About 44 minutes before the incident the high-speed train Sapsan was doing a trial run in the same area.

Russian media initially reported that the cause of the derailment was an electrical fault. However, witness reports of hearing a "loud bang",[17][20] though another passenger told reporters in St Petersburg there had been no blast.[20] Interfax news agency said a 3-foot-wide (0.91 m) crater had been found next to the railway track, though Reuters reporters at the scene did not see one.[20] The discovery of a 1 m (3.3 ft) crater under the tracks altered the focus of the investigation as officials suspected that the incident might instead be the result of a terrorist attack.[18] Later on 28 November, Alexander Bortnikov, head of the Federal Security Service (FSB), reported to President Dmitry Medvedev that the train was derailed by an explosion equivalent to 7 kg (15 lb) of TNT.[21]

Early investigation reports did not indicate consensus over the cause. While some reports indicated suspicion of terrorist-related activities, one law enforcement official said that the crater "must be just a pit someone dug out [or could have been] left by an explosive device".[22] Some railway engineers additionally suggested that derailment may have been caused by one or several technical failures without any explosion involved.[23][24]

Responsibility for the attack had first been claimed by far-right nationalists[25], then by the "Caucasian Mujahadeen" on orders from Dokka Umarov, who is considered to be "the leader of the Islamist insurgency in the North Caucasus."[26] The attack was claimed to have been part of a series of attacks planned to Russian infrastructure.[26] Vladimir Yakunin, the head of Russian railways, noted similarities between this attack and the 2007 Nevsky Express bombing, though responsibility for the 2009 attack is yet to be confirmed.[26] Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov expressed doubts about Umarov's direct involvement, saying it may have been an attempt for him to "raise his standing in the eyes of his foreign backers".[27]

Evidence linked to the train explosion was found during an investigation that took place following a raid on suspected rebels on 2-3 March 2010, in which close associate of Umarov, Said Buryatsky, along with 7 other suspects were killed. Additionally, according to Bortnikov, bomb material "identical" to what was used in the 2007 train attack had also been uncovered during the raid.[28]

Casualties

The high-end train was popular with government officials and Russian business executives.[29]

Notable deaths
  • Boris Evstratikov – head of Rosreserve[30]
  • Sergei Tarasov – chairman of Rosavtodor[30], ex-representative of the St. Petersburg in the Federation Council of Russia
  • Lyudmila Mukhina – deputy head of the Office of Science of Rosrybolovstvo[31]
Notable injuries
  • Dmitry Goin – deputy head of Rosreserve[31]
  • Alexander Poshivay – head of administration of Rosreserve[31]

Second bomb

A second, weaker bomb exploded the next day, 28 November at 14:00 (11:00 UTC), near the site of the first blast.[32] The bomb was detonated by remote control, and was apparently targeted at investigators, injuring Alexander Bastrykin, the head of the Investigative Committee and highest-ranking government official to visit the scene.[10][33][34]No deaths were reported.[10]

Response

President Dmitry Medvedev was informed of the incident and ordered an investigation by the FSB,[17][18] while the Emergency Situations Minister held a crisis meeting with the interior and Health Ministers.[14] As per the Russian Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev, several leads have been pursued and criminal case was opened under Articles 205 (terrorism) and Article 22 (illegal possession or storage of weapons or explosives) of the Russian Criminal Code.[35] In a televised Q&A session on 3 December, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin also called for tough measures against the perpetrators of the bombing and reiterated terrorism still caused significant threats to the country.[36] On 3 December, Russia's Transport police released sketches of four possible suspects one of which is believed to be a female. Russian Security Services allege these individuals had rented a house in the nearby village with a purpose of establishing train movement schedules for planning the attack and subsequently planted the explosives.[37][38]

Charges

On March 31, 2010, the official investigation resulted in charges of terrorism, participation in unlawful armed formations and illegal trafficking in explosives and ammunition against 12 ethnic Ingush from the village of Ekazhevo in Ingushetia; 11 of them have the last name Kartoyev and are related; the 12th is Zelimkhan Aushev. The alleged leader of the terrorist cell was an Islamist preacher known as Said Abu Saad al-Buryatia or Sayid Buryatskiy (ru:Саид Бурятский; born Aleksandr Tikhomirov). Sayid Buryatskiy was killed in a clash with police in March 2010.[39] Final version of the indictment was filed on January 20, 2011, with 9 Kartoyevs and Aushev charged.[40]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Радиостанция "Эхо Москвы" / Новости / Суббота, 28.11.2009 / В деревнях у места крушения "Невского экспресса" сотрудники милиции ищут возможных террористов". Echo.msk.ru. 2008-06-29. http://echo.msk.ru/news/637605-echo.html. Retrieved 2009-11-28. 
  2. ^ "Радиостанция "Эхо Москвы" / Передачи / Разворот (утренний) / Суббота, 28.11.2009: Борис Грузд, адвокат, очевидец крушения "Невского экспресса"". Echo.msk.ru. 2008-06-29. http://echo.msk.ru/programs/razvorot-morning/637583-echo/. Retrieved 2009-11-28. 
  3. ^ "Радио "Маяк" / В крушении "Невского экспресса" есть погибшие и раненые". Radiomayak.ru. http://www.radiomayak.ru/doc.html?id=162893&cid=43. Retrieved 2009-11-28. 
  4. ^ ""Невский экспресс" взорвали 7 килограммами тротила". Lenta.ru. http://lenta.ru/news/2009/11/28/kilos/. Retrieved 2009-11-28. 
  5. ^ "ВЗГЛЯД / Поезд Петербург-Москва частично сошел с рельсов в Тверской области". Vz.ru. http://www.vz.ru/news/2009/11/27/353480.html. Retrieved 2009-11-28. 
  6. ^ "На место катастрофы «Невского экспресса» выехал глава СКП РФ—Происшествия, поезд, катастрофа—Росбалт". Rosbalt.ru. http://www.rosbalt.ru/2009/11/28/692659.html. Retrieved 2009-11-28. 
  7. ^ "Радиостанция "Эхо Москвы" / Новости / Новости Эха / Суббота, 28.11.2009 / На месте крушения Невского экспресса могло находиться еще одно взрывное устройство". Echo.msk.ru. http://echo.msk.ru/news/637650-echo.html. Retrieved 2009-11-28. 
  8. ^ . http://www.echo.msk.ru/news/649188-echo.html. 
  9. ^ "Радиостанция "Эхо Москвы" / Новости / Новости Эха / Суббота, 28.11.2009 / По предварительным данным, 26 человек погибли и 96 пострадали в результате крушения Невского экспресса". Echo.msk.ru. 2008-06-29. http://echo.msk.ru/news/637638-echo.html. Retrieved 2009-11-28. 
  10. ^ a b c d Abdullaev, Nabi (2009-12-02). "2nd Train Blast Injured Bastrykn". The Moscow Times. http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/2nd-train-blast-injured-bastrykin/390746.html. Retrieved 2009-12-02. 
  11. ^ a b "At least 25 killed as train derails in western Russia". New York: New York Times. 28 November 2009. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/28/world/europe/28moscow.html. Retrieved 28 November 2009. 
  12. ^ a b Shchedrov, Oleg (27 November 2009). "Russian train crash kills 25, terrorism suspected". London: Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSGEE5AQ26F. Retrieved 28 November 2009. 
  13. ^ "Russia train crash 'caused by bomb'". BBC News. 2008-07-26. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8383960.stm. Retrieved 2009-11-28. 
  14. ^ a b "25 dead, 87 hurt in Russia train crash". Sydney: The Sydney Morning Herald. 28 November 2009. http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/25-dead-87-hurt-in-russia-train-crash-reports-20091128-jxm8.html. Retrieved 28 November 2009. 
  15. ^ Russia holds Nevsky Express train blast funerals BBC Retrieved on December 22, 2009
  16. ^ Barry, Ellen (November 28, 2009). "Villagers Rushed to Help in Frigid Russian Crash". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/29/world/europe/29scene.html. Retrieved 29 November 2009. 
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  19. ^ Odynova, Alexandra (2009-11-30). "25 Dead in Luxury Train Bombing". The Moscow Times. http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/25-dead-in-luxury-train-bombing/390561.html. Retrieved 2009-12-02. 
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  23. ^ Fontanka.ru
  24. ^ SvobodaNews.ru
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  28. ^ Russian Forces Kill 8, Find Train Attack Clues The St. Petersburg Times Retrieved on March 09, 2010
  29. ^ Sekretarev, Ivan (28 November 2009). "Russia: Bomb caused train crash that killed 26". Associated Press. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gn3is5E-dUPzWK3d_N1sKiCW4fpAD9C8J4M00. Retrieved 28 November 2009. 
  30. ^ a b ""Невский экспресс" взорвали 7 килограммами тротила" (in Russian). Lenta.ru. 28 November 2009. http://lenta.ru/news/2009/11/28/kilos/. Retrieved 28 November 2009. 
  31. ^ a b c "Авария «Невского экспресса» унесла жизни высокопоставленных чиновников" (in Russian). Новые Известия. 28 November 2009. http://www.newizv.ru/lenta/118082/. Retrieved 28 November 2009. 
  32. ^ "Second bomb explodes at Russia train crash site". ITN News. 28 November 2009. http://itn.co.uk/442317392aac5173d9a105f42998127e.html. Retrieved 28 November 2009. 
  33. ^ "Russia's top detective hurt in train bombing". AFP. ABC News. 2009-12-02. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/12/02/2759399.htm?section=world. Retrieved 2009-12-02. 
  34. ^ "Top detective hurt in second blast at train crash site". BreakingNews.ie. 2009-12-01. http://www.breakingnews.ie/world/eymhgbojgbau/rss2/. Retrieved 2009-12-02. 
  35. ^ "Russian train wreck 'an act of terror'". Moscow: CNN. 2009-11-28. http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/11/28/russia.train.crash/index.html. Retrieved 2009-12-03. 
  36. ^ "Vladimir Putin 'to think about' presidential bid". London: BBC News. 2009-12-03. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8392465.stm. Retrieved 2009-12-03. 
  37. ^ Lewis, Dana (2009-12-03). "Four Sought in Russian Train Bombing". Fox News. http://liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com/2009/12/03/four-sought-in-russian-train-bombing/. Retrieved 2009-12-03. 
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  39. ^ Aleksei Sokovnin, Musa Muradov (1 April 2010). "Charges and acquittals for Nevsky Express". Kommersant. http://www.kommersant.ru/doc.aspx?docsid=1346687. Retrieved 3 November 2010. 
  40. ^ "По делу "Невского экспресса"-2009 предъявлено окончательное обвинение". RIA Novosti. http://www.infosud.ru/incident_news/20110120/251642733.html. Retrieved 2011-01-21. 

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