Russia police issue appeal after blast derails train

The rail line is a vital link between Moscow and St Petersburg Source: BBC NEWS Russian police are appealing for witnesses following a bomb blast which derailed an express train north of Moscow on Friday, killing 25 people. The BBC's Richard Galpin, in Moscow, says investigators want to talk to a group of people seen close to the scene shortly before the derailment. Forensic experts returned to the crash site on Sunday to comb the debris of the Nevsky Express for clues. No-one has claimed responsibility for the explosion. Police said an "improvised explosive device" derailed the last three carriages of the express, one of Russia's fastest trains, which links Moscow with St Petersburg. Foreigners injured Officials originally said 26 passengers had been killed, but revised the figure down on Sunday. More than 100 people were injured, some of them seriously. Authorities said six foreigners were among them - an Italian, a Belgian, an Azerbaijani, two Belarussians and one Ukrainian. Our correspondent says the investigation is focusing on witnesses who may have seen suspicious activity near the town of Bologoye, about 400km (250 miles) north-west of Moscow. In particular, a group of people were seen milling around the track on Friday. Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev told Russian media they believed several people had taken part in the attack. He released a description of one suspect - a stocky man of about 40 with red hair - based on statements from local residents. Correspondents say key suspects in the investigation will be militants from the volatile North Caucasus region and extreme Russian nationalists. The Nevsky Express is an expensive, high-speed train popular with government officials and business executives. In 2007, a bomb on the same line derailed a train, injuring nearly 30 passengers. That blast has been blamed on Chechen separatists.