Two bridges collapse in Russian regions bordering Ukraine, killing at least 7

Emergency service workers at the scene of a bridge collapse in Russia’s Bryansk region on Sunday.

Reuters

CNN

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Two bridges have collapsed in Russia’s western regions bordering Ukraine, killing at least seven people and injuring dozens, authorities said.

It was not clear on Sunday morning whether the two incidents — which both involved trains — in neighboring Bryansk and Kursk were related, or what exactly caused the separate collapses.

At least seven people were killed in Bryansk when a road bridge gave way onto a passenger train late Saturday, with railway authorities citing “illegal interference.”

The bridge came down in the region’s Vygonichi district, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the Ukrainian border, crushing the moving train and injuring at least 66 people, including three children, Russian authorities reported.

Bryansk’s regional governor Alexander Bogomaz blamed the collapse in his region on an explosion, saying the bridge had been “blown up,” according to state media.

Bogomaz said on Telegram that 44 people had been hospitalized, with three in serious condition, including a child. The train was carrying 388 passengers.

Among those killed in the incident was the train’s engineer, Russian state media outlet RIA Novosti reported.

The train was traveling from the town of Klimov to the capital, Moscow, when it was hit by the debris from the bridge and derailed, according to RIA.

Images of the wreckage from the Moscow interregional transport prosecutor’s office show fallen earth, debris and concrete on top of what appears to be the passenger train, and derailed carriages as emergency services attend the scene.

Moscow Railway said the collapse was caused by “illegal interference in transport operations,” without providing further details.

Medics wait for the arrival of wounded passengers after a bridge collapsed onto a train in Russia’s Bryansk region, in this picture released Sunday.

Passengers were evacuated from the wreckage and were taken to a temporary accommodation center at a nearby station, according to TASS.

Railway workers later discovered damage to another section of railway track also in Bryansk region, Bogomaz said, adding that there were no casualties.

In another incident overnight into Sunday, a bridge collapsed in Russia’s Kursk region – which also borders Ukraine – as a freight train was passing over it, injuring one of the drivers, according to the acting governor of the region.

“Part of the train collapsed onto a highway that was under the bridge,” acting governor Alexander Khinshtein said on Telegram. The incident caused the train to catch fire and emergency service personnel worked to extinguish the blaze, he added.

Putin received updates about the two incidents throughout the night from the Federal Security Service (FSB) and Russia’s emergencies ministry, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Sunday, according to state media.

State media also reported that the Russian leader had discussed the incidents on the phone with Bogomaz and the head of Russian Railways, Oleg Belozerov.

A damaged freight train is seen following a railway bridge collapse in the Kursk region of Russia.

Acting Governor of Kursk Region/Reuters

In a third incident on Saturday night, a Russian military freight train was blown up near the occupied city of Melitopol in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, according to the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine.

“As a result of the explosion, the train with fuel tanks and freight cars derailed on the railway track,” the intelligence service said.

The freight train was moving towards Russian-occupied Crimea via a “key logistical artery” often used by Russian forces, the authority added.

Since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Kyiv has responded to Russian aggression by launching attacks using drones, artillery and troops into the Bryansk, Kursk and Belgorod regions. Pro-Ukrainian agents and sympathizers inside Russia have also carried out acts of sabotage against Russian targets.

In 2023, a fire that ripped through a train as it traveled along a strategic rail tunnel in eastern Russia was attributed to the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU), according to a Ukrainian defense source.

Early Sunday, Russia’s Investigative Committee described both incidents as being caused by explosions and labeled them “terrorist” acts, state media reported. Subsequent statements from the committee removed those references, saying only that investigators were working at the scene of the incidents to establish “all the circumstances of what happened.”

Andriy Kovalenko, the head of Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation, part of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, dismissed Russia’s earlier claim, saying: “Once again, there is a temptation to portray us as a ‘terrorist country’ in order to avoid dialogue.”

“It seems that the Kremlin is preparing the ground for the collapse of the negotiations with a smear attack on Ukraine in the international media,” he said.

On Sunday, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that Kyiv would send a delegation to the second round of planned peace talks with Russia in Istanbul on Monday.

The Ukrainian leader went on to list his country’s requirements in a post on X, which he said includes a full and unconditional ceasefire, the release of prisoners and the return of abducted children.

Zelensky also said that Defense Minister Rustem Umerov would once more lead the Ukraine delegation.

This story has been updated with additional developments.

New Insights on the Failure of Fukae Bridge

Researchers from the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geomatic Engineering, ETH Zurich, Switzerland have offered new insights on the failure of Fukae Bridge during the Great Hanshin 1995 earthquake in Kobe, Japan. The magnitude 6.9 earthquake which left many damages behind its wake caused about $100 billion loss in properties, including the collapse of all 18 spans of the elevated Route No. 3 of Hanshin Expressway.

In the catastrophic seismic event, the deck of the bridge which was monolithically connected to 3.1m diameter piers failed and overturned dramatically. However, the massive 17–pile groups supporting the piers survived the earthquake and are still in use, supporting the new bridge. The piles were founded in alluvium sand and gravel formation.

Figure 1: Japan, showing seismicity from 1961 to 1994, location of the 1995 Hanshin-Awaji
earthquake, and projected rupture areas of largest historical earthquakes to shake Kobe, which
were subduction-zone earthquakes in 1944 and 1946 (Source: https://www.geosociety.org/)

According to the authors, the lessons learned from the Kobe earthquake influenced substantially the seismic practices and codes not only in Japan but also worldwide. However, new insights have been offered on the failure of the bridge as the researchers carried out nonlinear finite element analysis of the bridge. The findings of the study were published in Elsevier -Soils and Foundations Journal.

Previous studies attributed the failure of the bridge deck to inadequate structural design regarding mainly the addition of a prematurely terminated third row of longitudinal reinforcement and insufficient shear capacity due to poor transverse reinforcement. Surprisingly, the failure did not occur at the bottom of the pier (location of maximum bending moment) but 2.5 m above the pilecap, where shear cracking initiated.

Figure 2: Reinforcement details and critical section where the 3rd row of longitudinal rebars was terminated and shear cracking initiated; lower section of
a collapsed pier exposed in the Hanshin Expressway earthquake museum (Sakellariadis et al, 2020)

The authors, therefore, re-examined the collapse of the bridge by comparatively assessing the performance of the original foundation, which survived the earthquake and is still in use (for the fully replaced bridge), to that of alternative design concepts, considering nonlinear soil-foundation interaction.

To achieve this, they carried out the static and dynamic response of a single segment of the Fukae bridge employing the FE method using ABAQUS software. Six different foundation configurations were explored, starting with the actual very stiff 17–pile foundation with its large cap and a highly nonlinear rocking shallow footing alternative consisting only of the pile cap. The soil profile was modelled with hexahedral (8-node) elements, adopting a thoroughly validated kinematic hardening model, with a modified pressure-dependent Von Mises failure criterion and associated plastic flow rule.

Key attributes of the FE model of a single segment of the Fukae bridge in Abaqus (Sakellariadis et al, 2020)

To gain deeper insights on the collapse mechanism, critical reinforced concrete (RC) structural members (pier and piles) were modelled and simulated with nonlinear solid elements, employing the Concrete Damaged Plasticity (CDP) model.

The numerical simulation successfully reproduced the shear-dominated failure mode at the longitudinal reinforcement cutoff region. The analysis also confirmed that, despite being highly overdesigned, the pile group foundation experienced limited but non-negligible swaying and rocking during shaking, as a result of which the piles were subjected to tension and combined shear-moment loading.

The resulting stiffness reduction of the cracked under tension piles leads to load redistribution towards the stiffer compressed piles, preventing plastic hinging of the weaker piles (under tension). These findings were found to be consistent with the post-earthquake in-situ testing.

Some of the conclusions inspired by the study are as follows;

Reducing the number of pile rows in the critical direction of seismic loading is promising in improving the seismic performance, but not sufficient to prevent severe damage of the examined pier.
The unconnected piled raft alternative reduces both the structural distress and the settlement.

Tragedy Strikes: Stone Observation Deck Collapses in Earthquake Chaos

The Stone Observation Deck Collapses During Earthquake – Panic Erupts as No One Expected Such Horror

In a shocking turn of events that has left both survivors and witnesses shaken to their core, a massive earthquake struck the region early Tuesday morning, causing the sudden collapse of a historic stone observation deck perched high above the valley. What began as a peaceful morning of sightseeing turned into a nightmare no one could have imagined.

A Morning of Beauty Turns into Tragedy

The stone observation deck, known locally as “Eagle’s Watch,” was a popular tourist destination nestled on the edge of the cliff, offering breathtaking panoramic views of the surrounding mountains and forests. That morning, the deck was crowded with families, hikers, and photographers — all eager to capture the sunrise. The sky had just begun to turn golden when the ground gave a violent jolt beneath their feet.

Eyewitnesses described the initial tremors as subtle — a gentle sway that soon escalated into a violent convulsion. In less than thirty seconds, what was once solid beneath them became a death trap. The massive stone structure, believed to have stood for nearly a century, crumbled like sand under the force of nature. The once sturdy railings twisted and snapped, and massive slabs of stone cracked and plunged into the abyss below.

Panic and Chaos as the Earth Shook

People screamed. Some dropped to their knees in prayer. Others ran in all directions, trying to find stable ground, but the narrow pathways and jagged rocks offered little refuge. “It sounded like the mountain was roaring,” said Mara Jenkins, a survivor who had just stepped off the deck to take a photo. “Then the entire platform just vanished. People were falling. The screams — I’ll never forget those screams.”

The collapse sent shockwaves not only through the earth but through the hearts of everyone present. Survivors clung to trees, rock outcroppings, or each other, while thick clouds of dust rose from the rubble. The earthquake lasted less than a minute, but the destruction it left behind was catastrophic.

First Responders Face an Uphill Battle

Emergency services arrived within the hour, but rescue efforts were immediately hindered by dangerous terrain and aftershocks. Helicopters hovered above the wreckage, searching for signs of life, while rescue teams worked tirelessly with limited equipment to pull survivors from the ruins. Many who had been on or near the deck were either missing or critically injured. The death toll, although unconfirmed at the time of reporting, is feared to be high.

“This is one of the most difficult rescue operations we’ve faced,” said Chief Andre Molina, head of the emergency response team. “Access to the site is treacherous. Debris is unstable. And time is against us.”

Grief, Questions, and a Search for Answers

Families gathered in nearby shelters, holding photographs of loved ones who had gone to Eagle’s Watch and never returned. For some, there is hope. For others, only silence.

Beyond the immediate grief and chaos lies a growing sense of outrage and confusion. How could such a disaster happen so suddenly? Why did the deck collapse so completely? The structure had undergone inspections in recent years, but critics are already questioning whether those assessments were thorough enough. Some even wonder if the deck was ever designed to withstand a major seismic event.

Government officials have promised a full investigation. “We owe it to the victims and their families to find out what went wrong,” stated Minister of Infrastructure Dana Lewes in a press conference late Tuesday evening.

A Nation Mourns, and the World Watches

As the sun set on what will now be remembered as a day of tragedy, makeshift memorials began to appear at the base of the mountain. Candles, flowers, handwritten notes, and photographs now line the road that leads to Eagle’s Watch — or what remains of it.

The collapse has reverberated far beyond the region. International news outlets are broadcasting images of the disaster around the clock. Leaders from around the world have extended their condolences, and humanitarian aid has already begun arriving to support rescue and recovery efforts.

The Unseen Power of Nature

Natural disasters remind us all of the fragility of human life — and of human creation. What took decades to build can be reduced to rubble in seconds. The collapse of the observation deck is not just a structural failure; it is a deeply human one. It is a story of lives lost, of fear and courage, of grief and hope.

No one expected such horror. But in its wake, a community has come together. Strangers have become rescuers. Survivors have become heroes. And though the earth may tremble again, so too will the spirit of those who refuse to let this tragedy be forgotten.

As search efforts continue into the night and the dust begins to settle, one thing is certain: the memory of this day — and those who were lost — will echo far beyond the mountains.

Pysu Tragedy Strikes: Stone Observation Deck Collapses in Earthquake Chaos (dvy)