The Russian Investigative Committee on Wednesday detained a rail engineer and his helper over the deadly derailing of a Moscow subway train on Tuesday that left at least 22 dead and scores hospitalized.
"Today, investigators from the Russian Investigative Committee detained two individuals suspected of breaching transportation safety rules. They are the rail engineer from the Moscow Metropolitan [Moscow Metro], Valery Bashkatov, and his helper, Yury Gordov," Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said.
The train may have derailed due to the incorrect installation of a cable that snapped in the rail junction switch.
“Investigators believe that the [installation] work itself was conducted incorrectly: a regular 3-milimeter wire was attached to the rail junction switch and snapped, causing the train to derail," Markin said.
A Moscow subway train derailed during the morning rush hour on Tuesday. Some 158 people were injured, with 146 of them taken to local hospitals.
Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences to the families and friends of the victims and wished a speedy recovery to the injured.
