50 years ago, on April 1975, 4, the Žasliai Railway at the station One of the biggest railway disasters in Lithuania occurred.
A passenger train traveling from Vilnius to Kaunas at a speed of approximately 70 km per hour, near the Žasliai railway station of the station, hit the overhanging gasoline tank of a freight train parked on the backup track. The strong impact tore through the tank, sparks caused a huge explosion. fire. After the collision, the driver's car of the passenger train overturned on its side, the first passenger car derailed, jumped onto the driver's car and caught fire. The second passenger car got stuck in the tank. The third car also derailed. Everything went up in flames.
The accident occurred on Easter Sunday, so the train was packed, and due to the large number of passengers, a double train was used. The exact number of passengers is unknown. It is believed that 20 people died in the disaster and about 200 were injured. Official statistics at the time reported lower numbers, and it is possible that the number of dead and injured was significantly higher.
We present photographs taken after the railway disaster in Žasliai, preserved in files compiled by the KGB of the Lithuanian SSR.
