Russian Ammunition Train Catches Fire, Triggers Blasts

A Russian military train transporting ammunition went ablaze on Wednesday and destroyed one carriage and damaged five others, triggering an explosion that scattered shells up to 200 metres (650 feet) away. The train was travelling within 100 kilometers from the main Siberian city of Novosibirsk when the incident occurred. Some residents of Russia's West Siberian region have been evacuated due to the explosions. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, there are no casualties and the fire has been localized. Russian Railways have halted the movement of trains on the main Trans-Siberian railway so that the accident can be cleared up. "The military train was carrying 30-millimetre shells which were to be destroyed. As a result of the fire they started to explode. They flew out to a distance of no more than 200 metres," a defense ministry official was quoted as saying. Four mine-sweeping groups have been deployed to the area to begin clearing the scattered shells but operations were reported delayed as ammunition continued to explode. It is still unclear how the fire started.