A fuel train in Russia exploded into flames after it collided with a truck in the Smolensk region. The accident happened early on Friday morning, near the border with Belarus, according to officials.

The truck is reported to have driven onto the rail lines as the train approached, forcing the locomotive driver to slam on the brakes. However, the train had no chance of stopping in time and hit the truck. “The train driver applied emergency brakes, but the insufficient distance made a collision unavoidable,” Moscow Railway said in a statement.

The impact caused the locomotive and 18 fuel carriages to derail, and several of them burst into flames. Firefighters rushed to the scene to battle the blaze, which several passing motorists filmed.

Images show a large section of the train engulfed by flames, with thick black smoke spiralling skywards.

The train driver and his assistant were injured in the crash and rushed to hospital for treatment. The truck driver is believed to have been killed in the collision.

Officials have opened a criminal investigation, with some reports suggesting the accident could have been caused by saboteurs.

Rail traffic along the key transport link between Moscow and western Russia was disrupted for several hours, while firefighters fought to bring the blaze under control.

It comes as Ukraine's army continues its highly effective attacks on Russian energy infrastructure.

Drones struck an oil pumping station in the Chuvash Republic, forcing the facility to suspend operations.

The attacks on oil refineries and depots have led to a crippling fuel shortage in Russia, forcing many petrol stations to close.

Russian Telegram channels are reporting that about 360 petrol stations have run out of fuel.

Supply disruptions have affected the Moscow, Leningrad, Ryazan, and Nizhny Novgorod regions, among others.