Explosion derails Russian train

At least 60 people were reportedly injured last night after an explosion derailed several carriages of a passenger train that was travelling between Moscow and St Petersburg.

Russian Railways said in a statement: "As a result of an explosion ... several carriages from passenger train No 166 came off the rails."

The state-owned monopoly said no one was killed in the accident. The train was carrying 231 passengers and a crew of 20. Twenty of the injured were taken to hospital, including two people in critical condition, the company said. .

Trains between Moscow and St Petersburg, the country's major cities, will have to bypass the site of the accident, causing a six-hour delay for passengers.

Russian Railways Chief Executive Officer Vladimir Yakunin, who was on a business trip in Sibir, cut the trip short and made his his way to the site of the accident.

According to reports, the train's driver heard a loud bang from underneath the locomotive immediately before the derailment, which occurred around9.45pm local timenear the city of Novgorod, about 300 miles north-west of Moscow..

One passenger said that some people were trapped in the carriages, with conductors, train workers and passengers smashing windows to try to help as downed power lines crackled near by.