Arzamas train disaster

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

The Arzamas train disaster, also called the Arzamas explosion, happened on June 4, 1988, at Arzamas-1 station in Arzamas, Soviet Union. A freight train carrying 118 tonnes of explosives, including hexogen, exploded at a railway crossing when the load detonated for unknown reasons, also triggering other explosives in the wagons. The blast left a 26-meter-deep crater and caused widespread destruction in the city.

The explosion damaged or destroyed about 151 buildings, including two hospitals, 49 kindergartens, 14 schools, and 69 stores. It left around 823 families homeless and destroyed 250 meters of railway track, a substation, power lines, and a gas pipeline, while damaging the railway station. In total, 91 people were killed and about 1,500 were injured.

Officials said the disaster was caused by violations of the rules for loading and transporting explosives. Some people, including Gennady Khodyrev, the regional governor, have suggested it could have been a terrorist act or the work of foreign special forces. The Arzamas disaster occurred a year before the Ufa train disaster.