Two trains collided outside Moscow on May 20, killing a at least nine people people and leaving 45 injured, 18 seriously, according to Russian state news agency ITAR-TASS.
About 55km southwest of the Russian capital, near the town of Naro-Fominsk, a passenger train with roughly 400 occupants encountered a freight train. The passenger train had left Moscow bound for the Moldovan capital, Chisinau. Visibility was poor.
It's not yet known exactly what happened, but something caused carriages on the freight train to derail. In total, 13 left the tracks.
Containers impacted the side of several passenger carriages, slicing open at least one. Three overturned. There was no head-on collision. Witnesses say one freight carriage came to rest on top of a passenger carriage hampering the rescue.
Serious accidents on Russia's vast rail network are rare. Yet, critics say the country's aging transportation infrastructure is in dire need of renovation.
