国际英语新闻：Moscow-St. Petersburg train derails, 27 injuries reported

MOSCOW - An explosion derailed a dozen cars on a Russian passenger train traveling from Moscow to St. Petersburg late Monday, an official with the national railroad operator said. An emergency official said at least 27 people were injured, three of them critically.

Policemen look at a derailed carriage of passenger train near the village of Malaya Vishera, about 500 km (310 miles) north-west of Moscow August 13, 2007. An explosion derailed the train, travelling between Moscow and St. Petersburg, late on Monday, injuring dozens of passengers but killing no one, officials said. [Reuters]

The train's driver heard a loud bang from underneath the locomotive immediately before the incident happened, Alexander Pirkov, an adviser to Russian Railways' top executive, said in televised comments. The derailment occurred around 9:45 p.m. (1745 GMT) near the city of Novgorod, about 500 kilometers (300 miles) northwest of Moscow.

The RIA-Novosti news agency also quoted several passengers as saying that they heard a loud bang immediately before the derailment.

Investigators were trying to determine what caused the explosion, Pirkov said.

In all, 12 cars and a locomotive of the "Nevsky Express" derailed and 215 passengers were on the train at the time, he said. All traffic along the railway _ a major passenger and cargo route _ was halted.

The Interfax news agency, citing an unnamed law enforcement official, said investigators had found a 1.5-by-1.5 meter (5-by-5-foot) crater under the train's ninth car.

Emergency Situations Ministry spokesman Viktor Beltsov said at least 27 people had been injured; three people critically.

One passenger told NTV by telephone that three, possibly four, train cars had derailed, with several lying on their side. He said some people appeared trapped in the cars, with conductors, train workers and other passengers smashing windows to try and help people as downed power lines crackled overhead.

The Moscow-St. Petersburg route is one of the busiest routes for the Russian Railways network, and is popular particularly among foreign tourists.