Six Die As Minibus Falls Through Ice In Russia

(RFE/RL) 18 January 2006 -- Officials say six people drowned after a minibus crashed through ice over a river in Russia's Volga Federal District.

Nine other people who were aboard the vehicle were reported to have survived the 17 January accident near the city of Nizhny Novgorod.

The accident occurred as Russia has been experiencing an unusual cold wave, with night temperatures dropping to minus 28 degrees Celsius or colder. On 17 January , two people were reported to have died in Moscow from exposure to the cold, and 14 other people were hospitalized.

(AFP, AP, Reuters)