Reports from Kazakhstan say railway inspectors have rescued 400 tortoises, which had been abandoned at a railway station close to the Russian border.

The Kazakh newsagency Interfax-Kazakhstan said the tortoises were crammed into two boxes which the inspectors said were probably thrown out of a carriage window by smugglers who got worried about customs in Russia.

Tortoises are a protected species, and their export subject to restrictions.

Some of the rescued tortoises were released back into the wild while the others were sent to local zoos.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service