ISTANBUL

At least seven people were killed and 69 others injured as two road bridges collapsed in Russia's border regions of Bryansk and Kursk, local authorities said Sunday.

"According to operational data... unfortunately, seven people died," Bryansk Governor Alexander Bogomaz said on Telegram, later reporting that the number of those injured rose to 66, of which 47 are hospitalized.

Bogomaz said that the incident, which took place late Saturday, was caused by the collapse of a bridge onto railway tracks in the region's Vygonichsky district, noting three of those injured are children, one of them is in critical condition.

Russian Railways (RZD), the country's state-owned railway operator, said on Telegram on Sunday that restoration efforts are underway at the scene, with almost 200 railway workers, three restoration trains, and other rescue services being involved.

Meanwhile, Moscow Railways, RZD's branch in the Russian capital, initially wrote on Telegram that the attack was caused by "illegal interference in transport operations," but later removed the reference.

Separately, acting Kursk Governor Alexander Khinshtein wrote on Telegram that a bridge also collapsed in his region's Zheleznogorsky district while a freight train was moving.

"The cause of the bridge collapse will be established. All emergency services are working on the scene," Khinshtein further said, adding that three members of the train's crew were injured.

Svetlana Petrenko, a spokesperson for Russia's Investigative Committee, said in an initial statement on Telegram that both incidents came as a result of explosions, providing no further details.

The statement was deleted and later issued again with any mention of an explosion being removed.