VLADIVOSTOK, August 7 (RIA Novosti) - Prosecutors in Russia's Far East said Monday they had begun an investigation into a crash that paralyzed the Trans-Siberian railroad over the weekend.
Prosecutor Irina Nomokonova said a broken wheel pair was thought to have caused the derailment of 32 empty oil tank cars, which damaged 1,500 meters of track, early Sunday morning in the Primorye Territory, eight time zones east of Moscow.
Television pictures showed the cars lying on both sides of the track and at least one emergency worker said he was relieved they had been empty at the time of the incident.
Operator Russian Railways said traffic had resumed as normal later Sunday afternoon and all trains would reach their destination on time despite the accident.
