At least 18 people have died and dozens were injured after a truck carrying gravel crashed into a passenger bus on the outskirts of Moscow.
The Civil Defense Ministry said 14 people died instantly in the accident on July 13, while the others succumbed to their injuries in hospital.
Police said the crash occurred when the truck plowed into the side of the bus near the settlement of Oznobishino, some 40 kilometers south of the city center. Several other vehicles were reportedly caught up in the accident.
Reports say more than 40 people were in the bus at the time of the crash. The drivers of both vehicles are among those hospitalized.
According to Moscow Deputy Mayor Pyotr Biryukov, the truck driver was the one who caused the accident:
"The Kamaz truck smashed -- there's no other way of putting it -- into the bus that was following its route," he said. "It flipped over and all 12 cubic meters of gravel poured into the bus. Rescuers had to extract the dead and the injured under very bad conditions from under the piles of gravel."
Biryukov said the truck driver, a 46-year-old Armenian, had been fined for traffic violations six times over the past year.
He added that the driver is being interrogated by police.
Authorities said that July 14 would be a day of mourning in the Moscow region for the victims of the crash.
Russia has one of the worst road safety records in the world, with 28,000 deaths recorded in 2012.
The Civil Defense Ministry said 14 people died instantly in the accident on July 13, while the others succumbed to their injuries in hospital.
Police said the crash occurred when the truck plowed into the side of the bus near the settlement of Oznobishino, some 40 kilometers south of the city center. Several other vehicles were reportedly caught up in the accident.
Reports say more than 40 people were in the bus at the time of the crash. The drivers of both vehicles are among those hospitalized.
According to Moscow Deputy Mayor Pyotr Biryukov, the truck driver was the one who caused the accident:
"The Kamaz truck smashed -- there's no other way of putting it -- into the bus that was following its route," he said. "It flipped over and all 12 cubic meters of gravel poured into the bus. Rescuers had to extract the dead and the injured under very bad conditions from under the piles of gravel."
Biryukov said the truck driver, a 46-year-old Armenian, had been fined for traffic violations six times over the past year.
He added that the driver is being interrogated by police.
Authorities said that July 14 would be a day of mourning in the Moscow region for the victims of the crash.
Russia has one of the worst road safety records in the world, with 28,000 deaths recorded in 2012.
