Bus-Train Collision in Ukraine Kills 43

VOA Breaking News
Voice of America
October 12, 2010 at 6:35 pm

A train in southeastern Ukraine crashed into a commuter bus Tuesday, killing at least 43 people and critically injuring more than a half-dozen others.

The accident occurred near the town of Marhanets.

Witnesses say the bus entered a railway crossing after ignoring an alarm that was signaling an oncoming train. Television footage later showed a mass of yellow twisted metal that had been the bus, and workers stacking bodies along the rail bed.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov told lawmakers that investigators were working alongside emergency personnel at the crash site to determine what happened.

Lawmakers stood for a moment of silence in memory of the victims.

An Interior Ministry statement said the train dragged the bus 30 meters after impact. It warned that the death toll could rise.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych expressed condolences to relatives of the victims.

Some information in this story was provided by AP and Reuters.