12 people killed, 20 injured in bus crash in Siberia

MOSCOW — At least 12 people, including nine members of a children's acrobatics team, were killed and 20 people were injured yesterday in a road collision in eastern Siberia, officials said.

The interior ministry in Russia's Khanty-Mansiysk district said the crash happened on a highway linking two Siberian oil towns. Early reports indicate the driver of the bus carrying team lost control and collided with a truck in the incoming lane, killing at least 12 people and injuring 20 more in the region that lies more than 1,200 miles (1,930 kilometers) northeast of Moscow.

The governor's office said the bus was taking the children back home after a competition in the regional capital.

The Investigative Committee would not immediate name a cause for the crash, but said it was looking at different factors including low visibility and bad weather conditions. Temperatures were around -17 Celsius (1.4 Fahrenheit) yesterday evening and there were reports of a blizzard.

The Russian health ministry dispatched top doctors from Moscow to treat the survivors, while Khanty-Mansiysk governor Natalya Komarova visited the crash site and the hospital.

"The injured are in a grave condition," she was quoted as saying. "The doctors are doing their best."

The Interfax news agency quoted a local police spokeswoman as saying the drivers of both vehicles, who were hospitalized, tested negative for alcohol.

The Khanty-Mansiysk district will hold a day of mourning on Monday.