Russian train derails near Black Sea, dozens injured

A handout photo provided on July 8, 2013 by Russia’s Emergency Ministry shows the place of a train crash on the Kislyakovskaya-Krylovskaya stretch in the Krasnodar region on July 7,2013. At least 76 people were injured when a Russian passenger train travelling from Siberia derailed near the Black Sea, the emergency situations ministry said, giving its latest toll. AFP PHOTO / RUSSIA’S EMERGENCY MINISTRY

MOSCOW— At least 76 people were injured Sunday when a Russian passenger train travelling from Siberia derailed near the Black Sea, the emergency situations ministry said, giving its latest toll.

Sixteen people including five children were admitted to hospital with serious injuries, while the rest were only slightly hurt, the health ministry said, according to Russian news agencies.

An earlier toll had 80 people hurt.

The locomotive and several cars of the train, which connects Novossibirsk in Siberia to Adler on the shores of the Black Sea, went off the rails and slid sideways.

Interfax news agency quoted investigators as saying that 11 train cars derailed in the crash, while the emergency situations ministry had five overturning.

More than 1,000 rescuers were sent to the site of the accident.

The driver braked sharply after noticing that part of the tracks in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region was deformed by the heat, according to a security source quoted by the Itar-Tass agency.