Freight train derails near Russia’s Yekaterinburg, tanker cars catch fire

Twenty cars of a freight train derailed on the Reshety–Sedelnikovo stretch of track in Russia’s Sverdlovsk region, and seven tank cars caught fire, the Russian state news agency TASS reported, citing the Sverdlovsk region branch of Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry.The fire has been contained to an area of 1,500 square meters (about 16,000 square feet), the regional branch of the Emergency Situations Ministry said, without specifying what was inside the tank cars.Residents of nearby homes were advised to stay indoors and, if that was not possible, to wear masks and respirators. The Yekaterinburg-based news outlet E1 reports that residents were also asked not to open their windows, to do wet cleaning more often, drink more fluids, and rinse their eyes, nose, and throat.The regional office of Rospotrebnadzor said it would conduct an air quality inspection for “pollutants characteristic of this type of fire.”The cause of the derailment remains under investigation. No official explanation for what happened had been offered as of publication.At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you’re reading was written by one of our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is the result of extensive testing and refinements to ensure our English-language coverage is timely and accurate. A Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.If you find any errors in this translation, please contact us at [email protected].To read Meduza’s exclusive content in English, please subscribe to our newsletter.