Russian strike on train on Prydniprovska Railway: 19-year-old conductor Ilona Vovk killed. PHOTO
As a result of the Russian attack on the railway, an oncoming train fatally injured train conductor Ilona Vovk, who was in the process of leading the evacuation. She was just 19 years old.
According to Censor.NET, this was reported by the chairman of the board of Ukrainian Railways, Oleksandr Pertsovskyi.
He said that the young woman had been on a work placement in Germany but wanted to return to Ukraine and work for Ukrzaliznytsia.
What is known about the young woman
"Ilona Vovk is an incredibly painful loss suffered by the railway family last night. The 19-year-old girl had only just begun her career as a train conductor. She had always dreamed of becoming a railway worker, was proud to have completed her internship and was starting her first full-fledged journeys. She became very actively involved in our youth railway community – our HR team noticed her enthusiasm and selected Ilona, along with her colleagues, to undertake an internship in Germany (this photo is from there). She had her whole future ahead of her – she was passionate about her work," the statement reads.
Investigation into the tragedy
Ukrzaliznytsia has stated that an investigation into the tragedy is ongoing.
"We are piecing together that fateful night of 22 March bit by bit. Enemy strikes on rolling stock force us to evacuate passengers so as not to leave them trapped (indeed, last night a timely evacuation on the Prydniprovska Railway saved both the crew and the passengers when a UAV struck the locomotive). On the Odesa Railway, however, tragic circumstances led to a oncoming train fatally injuring Ilona, who was in the process of conducting the evacuation. The investigation is ongoing into how and why existing safety protocols failed to prevent this danger, and how one set of circumstances compounded another. Every detail is crucial to enable us to continue working in the extreme conditions our crews face today. However, we already know – and it is important to say this – that Ilona acted courageously and, at the moment of the tragedy, was on her way to assist the passengers," said the chairman of the board of Ukrainian Railways.
What happened
It was previously reported that Russian troops attacked a train on the Prydniprovska Railway. During the evacuation, a female conductor was killed under the wheels of an oncoming train, and a passenger was also injured.
