SHOCKING video footage has shown the moment a suburban train burst into flames after a lightning bolt struck the overhead power lines.
Passengers are seen fleeing for their lives as the blaze broke out on the roof seconds after being struck by lightning.
2 A train burst into flames after being struck by lightning in RussiaCredit: CEN
2 The train had just come to a halt outside the town’s station when witnesses say they saw smoke billowing out of one of the carriagesCredit: CEN
Amateur footage of the incident in Elektrogorsk, Russia – ironically named after its power station – shows several passengers climbing out of the train in a frenzy and running for their lives.
The train had just come to a halt outside the town’s station when witnesses say they saw smoke billowing out of one of the carriages.
Other bystanders said there were sparks flying from the power lines above, which they believe caused the fire to suddenly break out.
A police spokesperson told local media: “A lightning bolt struck the train carriage near the station of Elektrogorsk.
“The lightning strike started the fire, but nobody got hurt.”
Reports say the incident caused a two-hour delay, but service is said to have resumed as normal after.
Arthur Petrov said: “The fire is not a big deal, the main thing is that everybody is alive.”
Elektrogorsk was founded in 1912 and named after its big peat-fired thermal power station – the first of its kind in Russia.