Several killed after bridge collapse derails train in Russia

At least seven people were killed and more than 60 others injured after a passenger train derailed following a bridge collapse in Russia late on Saturday, officials said on Sunday.

The bridge had been damaged as a result of "illegal inteference," Moscow Railways said in a statement.

A span of the bridge collapsed and then fell onto a train passing underneath, the state-run Russian news agency TASS reported. The conductor of the train was among those killed, TASS added.

Bryansk governor Alexander Bogomaz said three children were among those injured. Three people, including one of the children, were in a serious condition, he wrote on Telegram, adding that 44 people had been hospitalized.

Emergency services were at the scene, he wrote on Telegram.

"Everything is being done to provide all necessary assistance to the victims."

According to media reports, an explosion was heard before the collapse of the bridge, located about 80 kilometres from the border with Ukraine. Ukraine's military has not commented on the derailment.

Russia launched a full-scale war against its neighbour Ukraine more than three years ago.