Station operator's mistake caused train crash in Almaty

According to the preliminary investigation, the accident at Almaty railway station was caused by a mistake of Almaty-2 station duty officer, deputy prosecutor of the senior prosecutor’s office Darkhan Kapas told Tengrinews.kz. According to him, the officer ordered maneuvering of the passenger train No.15 to the platform without making sure that the platform was ready. As a result, the track switch was done improperly. Kapas said that 50 people were injured in the accident and 5 of them were delivered to a hospital. “However, after receiving first medical aid, they waived any further hospitalization and were discharged. They had no health complains. The doctors said that their conditions included injuries of hips, lumbar spine, occipital lobe soft tissues and chest,” deputy prosecutor said. 6 passenger couches and 1 cargo couch were damaged in the accident. The damaged couches were replaced with the properly functioning ones. According to Kapas, the passenger train No.301 departed with a 3-hour delay, as well as the train No.15. The train No.33 was 34 minutes late, and the train No.44 was 44 minutes late. Semirechinsk transport prosecutors initiated a criminal case for "violation of safety rules and exploitation of railroad transport that created conditions for consequences but didn't cause any". The investigation is underway. According to the official, results of the investigation will be unveiled within 2 months. Two trains collided at Almaty-2 railway station. The shunter guiding Almaty-Petropavlovsk passenger train (without passengers) to the platform) smashed into Almaty-Novosibirsk passenger train that was loading at the same platform. By Assemgul Kassenova