Russia blames terrorists as dozens killed in train crash

Russia was tonight coming to terms with its most deadly terrorist attack in years after investigators confirmed that a powerful improvised bomb caused Friday's devastating train crash in which at least 26 people, including several top government officials, were killed. The head of Russia's FSB counter-terrorism agency, Alexander Bortnikov, said the bomb, hidden on the railway line between Moscow and St Petersburg, contained the equivalent of 7kg (15.4lb) of TNT. Officers had found "elements of an explosive device", he said. Today two huge cranes lifted up wreckage at the crash site as workers searched for the missing. Officials said 18 people were still unaccounted for. Nearly 100 people injured in the crash were being treated in hospitals. Russia's president, Dmitry Medvedev, called for calm amid speculation the explosion could be the start of a new campaign by Chechen extremists. "We need there to be no chaos, because the situation is tense as it is," he told Russian TV. The luxury Nevsky Express was carrying 682 passengers and 29 crew from Moscow to Russia's second city St Petersburg. It was derailed at 9.34pm on Friday, close to the village of Uglovka, 250 miles north west of Moscow.