19 killed as bus plunges onto frozen river in Siberia
A passenger bus plunged off a bridge onto a frozen river in Siberia on Sunday, killing 19 of the more than 40 people on board, authorities said.
"According to updated information, 19 people died, 21 have various injuries," the local government for the Zabaikalsk region said in a statement.
Two helicopters with medics were dispatched to the scene.
Russia's Emergencies Ministry said in a statement on its website that the bus, traveling from the town of Sretensk to the city of Chita, 6,320 km east of Moscow, fell from a bridge into the Kuenga River at around 09:38 Moscow time (0638 GMT).
It said about 43 passengers and a driver were on the bus.
Russia's Investigative Committee, which probes serious incidents, said it had opened a criminal inquiry into a possible violation of traffic safety rules.
Russia's record on road safety is one of the worst in the world.
However, the number of road deaths has gone down in recent years, to around 20,000 per year.
According to the country's traffic police, 18,214 people died in road accidents last year.
That is more than the 15,000 Soviet servicemen who were killed during the whole of the Soviet war in Afghanistan in 1979-1989.
(Source: Agencies)
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