The Moscow Metro officially began its work back in 1935. During its existence, this system of urban transport was modified and improved, not only new stations were opened, but also entire lines. Of course, over a long period of time, it simply could not do without various kinds of accidents. Some of them passed without casualties, while others led to injuries. And some have even become dark spots in the history of the Moscow metro, as they were associated with the death of passengers.
Accident 1. Train crash between Avtozavodskaya and Kolomenskaya stations
The first major accident in the Moscow metro happened on the Zamoskvoretskaya line on April 15, 1979. On that day, between the Avtozavodskaya and Kolomenskaya metro stations, one of the cars hit a structural element of the track with its gearbox. As a result, five carriages derailed. Many passengers who were on that train received injuries of varying severity, but there were no deaths.
The consequences of the accident were eliminated only after 24 hours, and all this time the work of the Zamoskvoretskaya line was completely suspended. An expert commission specially created for this purpose was investigating the causes of the incident. It turned out that mistakes were made in the design of the cars used at that time. In order to exclude a repetition of the situation, a special device was developed with which all Moscow metro tracks were equipped.
Accident 2. Fire in the train between the stations "Tretyakovskaya" and "Oktyabrskaya"
On June 12, 1981, a train caught fire, en route between Tretyakovskaya and Oktyabrskaya stations. The fire started from a wooden box, located under one of the carriages, in which batteries were stored. As a result of the incident, four cars were almost completely destroyed by fire.
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According to the information officially announced by the authorities, no one was killed, but several firefighters were poisoned by carbon monoxide during the elimination of the fire. According to The New York Times, at least 7 people died that day from the effects of the fire. In their material, journalists from the United States refer to the testimony of eyewitnesses of those events.
Accident 3. Tragedy with a faulty escalator at the Aviamotornaya metro station
A major accident occurred on February 17, 1982 at the Aviamotornaya metro station. On that day, at about five o'clock in the evening, one of the escalators, on which the passengers were at that moment, suddenly accelerated its movement more than two and a half times. As a result, people began to lose their balance and fall down, sliding down the steps and blocking the exit. At the time of the accident, there were about a hundred people on the steps of the escalator. Some of them jumped onto the balustrade to avoid falling.
The authorities of the city of Moscow decided not to disclose the details of the incident, and practically nothing was said about it in the news. As a result, many rumors have surfaced. It was said that there was a break in the escalator chain and people standing on it fell directly on the moving mechanisms and drive gears. Allegedly, eyewitness accounts of the large number of those killed were circulated.
According to the official version, 8 passengers died at the station that day, and the number of injured was in the tens. These figures were announced by the authorities only 9 months after the tragedy. The investigation found that while sliding down, people fell on each other. In addition to the injuries received, the cause of death of people was the crush formed below. As we found out, the accident occurred due to equipment malfunction and improper maintenance.
