Arzamas railway accident
The Arzamas railway accident was a disaster that occurred on June 4, 1988 at 9:32 a.m. in the city of Arzamas in the Russian Oblast of Gorky ( Soviet Union ). 91 people died.
the accident
A freight train , in which numerous wagons with petroleum products were lined up, also carried three freight wagons loaded with 120 tons of various explosives for mines in Kazakhstan . When passing through the station Arzamas 1 came to a railroad crossing at the northern end of the station in an explosion.
consequences
91 people died and 1,500 were injured. 151 houses and two hospitals were destroyed, 823 families were left homeless , 250 meters of the route and the reception building were destroyed. The explosion left a crater up to 6 meters deep with a diameter of over 25 meters, a part of a diesel locomotive of the 2ТЭ10М series weighing around 120 tons was hurled over 200 meters.
There were rumors that it was a terrorist attack , and according to the then head of the KGB in the Gorki region, the investigators even focused on this thesis of sabotage. Another conceivable cause is self-ignition of the explosives due to improper loading or load securing, a derailment of the train, a technical defect on the train or a side impact with a road vehicle at the level crossing. The extent of the explosion was exacerbated by the fact that no other wagons were lined up in the train as protection wagons between the wagons with the explosive goods.
Due to the extensive destruction, the cause of the explosion could not be determined in the end, although in the course of the investigation no fewer than 150 railway wagons were damaged in various ways in order to find the cause of the explosion.
A memorial today commemorates the disaster.
conspiracy theories
On a calendar with the actor Oleg Jankowski , a kind of encirclement could be seen on June 4th, which could be explained by dust or a small hair on the negative. Someone sent this calendar to the public prosecutor's office because not only was the date "marked" on the calendar, but the time on the actor's watch also matched the time of the explosion.
The presence of another train from the closed city of Arzamas-16 , guarded by soldiers, encouraged speculation that it might have been an attack on that train with the intention of detonating an atomic bomb that might have been inside .
Other allegedly suspicious connections:
- A new cemetery had been opened only a few weeks earlier and civil defense exercises had been held in schools throughout May.
- Exactly one year later, again on June 4th, the railway accident occurred at Ufa
literature
- Министерство Российской Федерации по делам гражданской обороны, чрезвычайным ситуациям и ликвидации последствий стихийных бедствий (ed.): Взрыв железнодорожного грузового поезда на станции Арзамас (1988 г.) . 1998. ISBN 5-88417-167-6 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b On a day like war 30 years ago, the explosion of the train destroyed part of Arsamas. Local residents are still convinced that the reason will be covered up , Meduza, June 4, 2018
Coordinates: 55 ° 24 ′ 32.4 " N , 43 ° 47 ′ 23.5" E