The Borki train disaster occurred on October 29 [O.S. October 17] 1888 near Borki station in the former Kharkov Governorate of the Russian Empire (present-day Kharkiv Oblast of Ukraine), 295 kilometres (183 mi) south of Kursk, when the imperial train carrying Tsar Alexander III of Russia and his family from Crimea to Saint Petersburg derailed at high speed. Twenty-one people died at the scene and two later, with between 12 and 33 injured. According to the official version of events, Alexander held the collapsed roof of the royal car on his shoulders while his family escaped the crash site uninjured. The story of the miraculous escape became part of contemporary lore and government propaganda. The investigation into the crash, led by Anatoly Koni, resulted in the appointment of railway manager and future Prime Minister of the Russian Empire Sergei Witte as the Director of State Railways.
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