Latest news At least two dead in rail accident in Russia

At least two passengers have been killed and dozens injured in a rail accident in northern Russia.

"The bodies of two people were found at the site where passenger train number 511 Workuta - Novorossiysk derailed," the Russian railroad company RZD announced on its telegram channel on Thursday. Another person is still missing.

According to official information from the Russian Ministry of Health, up to 40 people were injured; the Interfax news agency, citing information from the rescue service, wrote of up to 50 injured, several of them seriously. The train derailed on Wednesday evening in the Russian republic of Komi.

A total of around 200 passengers and 20 railroad staff were on board when the train derailed. Nine of the fourteen carriages came off the tracks and overturned.

The cause of the accident is thought to be washed-out tracks due to heavy rainfall. The authorities have initiated criminal proceedings for violating rail safety regulations. The railroad company itself has promised the victims' surviving dependants the equivalent of around 20,000 euros in compensation, in addition to an equally high insurance sum. The injured are to receive the equivalent of between 5,000 and 10,000 euros in compensation.