Seven Killed, Dozens Injured In Bus Crash Near Moscow

A bus crash near Moscow has killed at least seven people, including four children, and injured 32 others, authorities said.

The bus was carrying 45 people when it tipped over and crashed on a local road about 190 kilometers south of Moscow early on February 3, the Emergency Situations Ministry said.

It took hours for rescue teams to get to the dozens of people who were trapped inside the bus.

The Kaluga region’s Interior Ministry said in a statement that 24 people were taken to hospital.

Most of them were children, media reports quoted officials as saying.

The cause of the crash is not known and police said the driver has been detained for questioning. There was snow on the ground where the bus crashed.

A criminal investigation has been launched into possible traffic and safety violations, the TASS news agency reported.

Interfax quoted the mayor of the town of Yartsevo as saying the bus was carrying a children's dance club to a competition in the city of Kaluga.

The Emergency Situations Ministry said the bus did not collide with another vehicle. It said the bus seems to have veered off the road before tipping over.

The number of road deaths in Russia has declined in recent years but still remains around 20,000 annually.

Based on reporting by AP, dpa, AFP, TASS, and Interfax