Russia deliberately targeted the “Odesa-Dnipro” train. At the moment of the strike, there were 340 passengers on board.
Ukrzaliznytsia / © Ukrzaliznytsia
In the Odesa region, a jet drone attacked the locomotive of the passenger train “Odesa-Dnipro,” which carried 340 passengers. According to preliminary information from the company, the driver and his assistant died.
This was announced by the Chairman of the Board of JSC “Ukrzaliznytsia” Oleksandr Pertsovsky on Thursday, August 13.
According to him, it was a targeted strike by a jet “Shahed” on the locomotive of the passenger train.
“Preliminarily, according to available information, this strike left no chance for our locomotive crew – the driver and his assistant,” Pertsovsky noted.
He assures that after the alarm was sounded due to the threat of UAVs, the monitoring team gave the command to stop, and as the train approached the station for passenger evacuation, the drone hit the locomotive.
“A sharp maneuver of a jet Shahed – it’s a matter of minutes, and the locomotive crew did not have enough time to fully stop and evacuate themselves,” he explained.
Pertsovsky added that the 340 passengers and the train crew were evacuated and are currently safe. There were no injuries. “Ukrzaliznytsia” organized bus transportation for passengers to Odesa.
Footage from the drone strike site has been shown online. It shows that a fire broke out after the locomotive was hit. Flames engulfed the entire train locomotive.
Why the train was not stopped immediately after the threat of attack appeared
Ukrzaliznytsia explained that the locomotive crew, despite the threat of UAVs, continued to operate the train so that passengers could safely leave the carriages.
“Our colleagues did their job until the last moment and did everything possible to protect the people for whom they were responsible. We bow our heads to the dedication of our colleagues and keep their memory. We are with their families and will do everything possible to support them during this extremely difficult time,” the statement reads.
RF’s attacks on Ukrzaliznytsia trains – what is known
We remind you that on August 8, a Russian drone hit the “Sumy-Kyiv” train. According to the police, the train was attacked around 08:00 in the Sumy district, resulting in damage to the locomotive and a fire. Preliminarily, there were no injuries.
And on August 6, the occupying army struck the city of Lozova in the Kharkiv region, attacking the railway station. The hit occurred in a train carriage near the railway station.
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