At least 19 people are dead and over 100 have been hospitalized after a subway train crammed with commuters derailed in Moscow early Tuesday morning.
The rush hour derailment occurred when a power surge sent off the emergency alarm, abruptly stopping the train between two subway stations in west Moscow, according to Fox News. Nearly 200 people were evacuated from the train after the underground incident near Park Pobedy station.
"I was tossed up in the air," one passenger, identified as Ivan, told the Russian network RT.com. "There was blood on the floor, heads bruised, arms broken. Panic broke out."
Seven bodies have so far been recovered and teams are in the process of recovering 12 more bodies from two damaged train cars, Alexander Gavrilov, deputy chief of Moscow emergency services, said according to Fox News.
Over 100 ambulances rushed between 150 and 160 people to the hospital, with nearly half said to be in grave condition. The train's driver was thought to be dead but reports revealed he survived and is receiving treatment at a hospital, Moscow officials said according to RT.com.
One injured passenger left the scene alive but later died.
"All of the injured have arrived to hospitals alive, but one severely injured woman died in 71st hospital," Aleksey Khripun, deputy head of the capital government's healthcare department, said according to RT.com.
Officials do not yet know what caused the train derailment on the Russian capital's Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya dark blue subway line. Vladimir Markin, spokesman for the Investigative Committee, said authorities are exploring the possibility that one of the train cars was faulty.
"There can be several reasons: failed switch, rail subsidence, because there are construction works in a tunnel nearby," Markin said according to RT.com.
Moscow's Metro has been the target of terrorist plots in the past. However, Russian officials have ruled out terrorism in this case.
