Five people died and 21 were injured in a passenger bus accident south of Moscow, authorities said.
The bus crashed into a pillar under a railway bridge around 5:45 a.m. in the Ryazan region, an Interior Ministry spokesperson said on January 2.
The accident occurred on a highway near the village of Voslebovo, 270 kilometers south of the capital.
The bus carried a total of 49 passengers who were traveling from the southern city of Astrakhan on the Volga River to Moscow.
There were conflicting reports about the cause of the crash.
According to initial reports, the driver may have fallen asleep at the wheel.
Interfax quoted a regional investigator as saying the driver may have lost control due to ice on the road.
Police and the local branch of Russia's Investigative Committee have launched a probe into the cause of the crash.
