国际英语新闻：23 dead, 55 injured in Russian train derailment

MOSCOW, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- At least 23 people have been killed and 55 others injured in a derailment of a Russian express train on Friday, the Itar-Tass news agency quoted an emergencies ministry source as saying.

    The RIA Novosti news agency, citing prosecutors, put the death toll at 25 and injured at 63.

    Four carriages of the train traveling from Moscow to St. Petersburg went off the tracks at 9:30 p.m. Moscow time (1830 GMT) near the town of Bologoye on the border between Tver and Novgorod regions, the authorities said.

    The reason behind the incident was not immediately clear, but the state-run railway company said the derailment could have been caused by an act of terrorism, Itar-Tass reported.

    The Interfax news agency cited an unnamed source with Moscow's law enforcement agencies as saying that a one meter-diameter hole was found near the scene of the accident.

    "Witnesses heard a loud bang before the accident. All this could point to a possible attack," the source said.

    A bomb attack hit the same line in 2007, injuring dozens of passengers.

    Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has instructed Emergencies Minister Sergei Shoigu to take all necessary measures to extend assistance to those affected, the Kremlin said.

    Medvedev has also ordered federal security service FSB chief Alexander Bortnikov and Prosecutor-General Yuri Chaika to investigate into the cause of the disaster.

    Russian Railways President Vladimir Yakunin rushed to the scene, where ambulances, rescuers, FSB officers, law enforcers, and railroad specialists are working.

    Russia Railways said injured passengers have been sent to hospitals in nearby towns. Those not injured left the site by cars, buses and another train heading for St. Petersburg.

    The railroad monopoly said trains will move along a bypass route after the accident to keep railroad communication between the two largest Russian cities running.