Bomb Caused Russian Train Crash; At Least 26 Dead

A Russian express train derailed in a remote countryside Friday evening while traveling between the capital Moscow and St. Petersburg. Investigators on the scene believe that a bomb blast caused the Nevsky Express' derailment.

In a statement issued by Russia's federal investigative committee, it was revealed that investigators found "elements of an explosive device" at the scene of the accident. A senior intelligence official also said that a bomb derailed the train.

The head of Russia's domestic intelligence service, Alexander Bortnikov, told President Dmitry Medvedev that a bomb equivalent to seven kilos (15lbs) of TNT had been detonated.

There has not yet been any confirmed claim of responsibility for the attack.

More than 650 were onboard the train. More than 90 are in the hospital, some of whom were taken by helicopter. Reports vary on the number of fatalities, which some suggesting as many as 39 people have died.

Hundreds of rescue workers and officials worked throughout the night at the scene of the accident in the town of Bologoye in the Tver region. Some passengers who were on the locomotive reported hearing a loud bang just before the derailment.

This would not be the first time that a train has been derailed on one of the busiest rail routes in Russia. In 2007, a bomb on the very same line derailed a train. However that incident seems to have been less tragic than the one still unfolding today. There were just 30 people injured in the 2007 attack, which was suspected to have been made by two men suspected of having links to Chechen rebels.