Energy equipment fire causes outages in Russian town, railroad section in Siberia
A fire broke out at a power substation near a railroad station in Russia's Kemerovo Oblast in Siberia, causing outages in the town of Mariinsk, local authorities reported on Aug. 19.
The outages also affected a section of the Krasnoyarsk railroad. According to Russian prosecutors, the preliminary investigation points to technical malfunction as a cause.
There is currently no indication that the incident in Mariinsk, which lies around 3,300 kilometers (2,050 miles) from Ukraine's border, was a result of an intentional sabotage.
A number of railroad fires and other malfunctions have sprung up throughout the full-scale war, with some inked to Ukrainian intelligence services.
The fire was recorded at around 11 p.m. local time on Aug. 18. A fire train subsequently extinguished it, and the power supply was restored. The authorities said the fire caused a two-hour delay in traffic.
Alexander Krivtsov, the head of the Mariinsky district administration, said that power had been restored in all populated areas, but some wells remained disconnected, necessitating water deliveries to the population.
Martin Fornusek
