At least 19 people were killed when a train and a bus collided near the city of Vladimir, east of Moscow, in Russia. The engine of the bus reportedly stalled when it drove onto the railway track despite a red light.
"According to the latest information, 19 people have been killed," the head of the regional health service, Alexandre Kiryukhin, told the TASS news agency. The regional interior ministry has said that all the people killed were passengers of the bus.
"People inside the bus were sleeping, there were 50 of them. The driver shouted and 34 people ran out of the bus to push it. They survived. Those who remained in the bus died. It got literally torn apart," Express UK quoted Rita Shlyakhtina, the regional governor's press secretary, as saying.
Sputnik reported that five people have been rushed to the hospital and four of them are critical. A spokesman for the Moscow railway authority said: "Tonight, at 3.40am a bus was passing a railway crossing near the Pokrov station when the engine stalled."
The passengers are mostly believed to be from Uzbekistan and both the drivers were from Kazakhstan. One of the drivers died in the accident, according to the Daily Star.
More details awaited
