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Moscow Metro Chief Sacked Over Deadly Accident


The head of the Moscow metro system has been sacked following a deadly accident last week.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced Ivan Besedin's dismissal on July 22, saying the metro accident that killed 23 people and injured hundreds of others outweighs "the huge amount of work accomplished in the Moscow metro in recent years."

The accident occurred when three subway cars came off the track while traveling at 70 kilometers per hour between the Slaviansky Boulevard and Park Pobedy stations during morning rush hour on July 15.

Among the dead were two Chinese, two Tajiks, one Kyrgyz, and a Moldovan citizen.

Sobyanin also introduced new metro chief Dmitry Pegov, who previously worked as the general director of the High-Speed Rail Lines Directorate, a subsidiary of Russian Railways.

Based on reporting by Interfax and ITAR-TASS

RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.

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