Accidents in the Summer of 1959
In May 1959, investigators closed the investigation into the death of the Dyatlov group. They had other things to do besides summer vacations. People continued to die en masse in the following days, even from falling trees.
Now the curtain has been lifted, and we know about all this as if it were happening right now, right now. But back then, people barely knew about it. Many were dissatisfied with the Soviet regime, the ideology it imposed, and other practices, and the slightest spark could lead to an explosion of general indignation. The Voice of America also reported on all the troubles in the country.
I remember the 1980s well and how it all unfolded. I remember that pioneer slogan: "No one is forgotten, nothing is forgotten!"
Let's look at an interesting episode on the ProMetro channel, from August 17, 2025, the day before Malakhov's new show on August 18, 2025, about the Dyatlov Pass disaster, UFO traces, and the spy Zolotarev and his stepdaughter.
Train with the Pioneers. The Minino Disaster.
"Forget it all! You didn't see it!"
Mom told me that after the crash, she and the other train conductors were called somewhere, and they wrote something on pieces of paper... She doesn't remember anymore...
– The authorities kept silent and concealed the details of this major train disaster in the Krasnoyarsk Territory for over 60 years. A horrific derailment of two freight trains carrying oil products and one passenger train carrying passengers occurred in 1959 at Minino station. A whole chain of mystical and, in some sense, still classified events led to simply horrific consequences that eyewitnesses to the accident will remember for the rest of their lives.
In this episode, thanks to our subscriber, we're transported to the Krasnoyarsk Territory and will attempt to reconstruct the entire chronology of events of that fateful day in order to answer the most important question: why did this catastrophe occur at Minino station?
Let's imagine the situation: Krasnoyarsk Territory, June 1959. Numerous schoolchildren had come to the city of Krasnoyarsk for a Young Pioneer rally, which was taking place at the time in a true atmosphere of joy and merriment. Anticipation of the coming summer and long-awaited holidays.
The streets adjacent to the Krasnoyarsk Lokomotiv Stadium seemed hushed in anticipation. But then the sound of horns and the rhythmic beat of drums could be heard, and the street filled with Pioneers. White blouses and red ties flashed. The stadium, so recently silent, came alive. Above it, triumphant marches and cheerful songs filled the air. The laughter and noise of restless children simply filled it. Thus began the eleventh city Pioneer rally, the final part of a major celebration for Krasnoyarsk schoolchildren. It was a celebration dedicated to the end of the school year and International Children's Day.
Children sing Pioneer songs.
And on June 2, 1959, a train stands on the tracks of the Krasnoyarsk central station, boarding passengers.
Passenger train #116 from Krasnoyarsk to Abakan. The Pioneer rally celebrating the end of the school year has come to an end, and many schoolchildren are traveling from Krasnoyarsk to their homes in Abakan. Right on schedule, the train departs at the green light.
The first 25 minutes of this train's journey passed without a hitch. The carriages were bustling with life and joy. Along the way, approximately 26 km from Krasnoyarsk, this train passed a small intermediate station called Minino, which, according to the train schedule, the train was supposed to pass through without stopping.
By a strange coincidence, as it approaches Minino station, the driver of train #116 sees the yellow light of the entrance to Minino station right in front of him. This means that the exit signal at this station is already red, and this train will still have to stop at this small intermediate station.
After this, the driver begins to gradually slow down and, after a couple of minutes, stops on the second main track of Minino station.
We are now at Minino station. It's a small station in the Krasnoyarsk region, near Krasnoyarsk. This is where the events of 1959 took place. There's nothing to remind us of this now, no evidence...
At the same time as our passenger train #116, freight train #1139 arrives on the adjacent track, carrying a thousand tons of petroleum products in tank cars. And by a mystical coincidence, this freight train also stops at the red traffic light on track one at Minino station. And so it appears that a passenger train is parked on track two, while a freight train carrying petroleum products is parked on track one.
According to archival data, at that time, work was in full swing along the Trans-Siberian Railway to clear away bushes and trees that grew in close proximity to the tracks.
And by a strange coincidence, one of these felled trees fell onto the power lines that control the traffic lights on that section of the line. After a tree fell on a wire, the signal at the station malfunctioned, and the signal began to glow green constantly, regardless of whether the track was occupied by another train.
But I find this theory unlikely, because any disruption to the signal control circuit should cause the signal to glow red. This is specifically designed for train safety.
There is also a second, more mystical theory in the archives. Allegedly, late on the night of June 1-2, the day before this incident, lightning struck the mast of the entrance signal on track one at Minino station, thereby disrupting its operation. And this traffic light starts to constantly light up and give only a green signal.
By a twist of fate, right behind freight train number 1139, which was currently standing on the first track of Minino station, a freight train, number 2448, was following a short distance behind our passenger train number 116. The driver of this freight train sees the green signal of the entry traffic light directly ahead as he approaches Minino station. Although, as you understand, this traffic light should have been red, because immediately behind it, on the first track of the station, stood a freight train carrying petroleum products. The driver of train #2448, which was approaching Minino station at that moment, had received no warning, and he was already preparing with complete confidence to proceed through the station without speed limits or stopping.
I recently filmed for you the accident at Lamenskaya station, which occurred in 1972 in the Tyumen region, on the Trans-Siberian Railway. And in 1972, Lamenskaya station wasn't equipped with an electric interlocking and automatic block system. The Lamenskaya station disaster occurred due to an error by the station attendant, who failed to ensure that the freight train had completely cleared the first track and instead opened the entry signal for the next passenger train arriving at the station. As a result, the passenger train, at high speed, passed the green signal and, literally seconds later, caught up with the freight train departing the station, resulting in a horrific derailment.
This happened here at Minino station in 1959. They likely also lacked electric interlocking and automatic block systems. And here it's worth considering that the green signal for the entry signal wasn't due to a faulty electrical circuit after a tree fell, but also due to an error by the station attendant. The attendant simply failed to check that a freight train was parked on the first track and opened the entry signal for another freight train arriving at the station. There's a lot to think about here.
After passing a false green signal at the entrance signal, a freight train enters the station at approximately 50 km/h and follows a curved section of track. This is why the train's driver didn't see the cars of the freight train parked on the same track. And after he saw this, he applied the emergency brakes. But for obvious reasons, the braking distance was insufficient. A collision occurs between this freight train and the train carrying petroleum products. The force of the impact causes the gasoline tankers to overturn directly onto the passenger cars of train No. 116, which was parked on the second track. And a massive fire breaks out.
The engineer of the passenger train, realizing the gravity of the situation and that he could still save other passengers by uncoupling the surviving cars from the overturned ones, runs into the fiery inferno to uncouple his train.
Reaching the scene of the fire, he sees cars 9, 10, and 11 lying on their sides. The doors were locked, and a raging fire was raging above. The passengers were essentially trapped in a fiery trap, while these wooden cars, filled with passengers, were transformed into a veritable conflagration within minutes.
The engineer was able to uncouple the cars that remained on the tracks. Although severely burned, he was able, in shock, to steer his train to a safe distance, thus saving the lives of hundreds of passengers on his train. The engineer subsequently died in the hospital from burns.
According to various sources, between 55 and 65 people died in this disaster at Minino station in 1959, including a large number of children and schoolchildren returning from a Young Pioneer rally in Krasnoyarsk to Abakan.
The scene described in various sources regarding the rubble of this disaster... I won't even describe it here; it's extremely horrific footage. Almost all the victims were buried in a mass grave in the cemetery in the village of Minino. And now I'd like to share some footage shot by my subscriber Anton from Krasnoyarsk at the scene.
We are now at the cemetery in the village of Minino. There's a mass grave here where the victims of this disaster are buried. We're walking carefully. There's a small hill here. And, of course, the monument itself, which also stands out among the other graves.
Let's move forward and look at the memorial plaques located next to the monument. They contain some names and even photos of the people who died in this disaster. The plaques are worn off, but still legible.
This is what the mass grave in the cemetery in the village of Minino looks like. There are no plaques or mentions on the monument itself. All that speaks of the disaster are the plaques on the fence with the names.
Topic: Train crash after DPI (due to fallen tree...) (Read 392 times)