Train-bus accident kills at least 43 in Ukraine
Source: Agencies |
October 13, 2010, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
AT least 43 people were killed yesterday and eight others injured when a train hit a commuter bus at a railway crossing in Ukraine - the worst road traffic accident in the country's history.
The bus, carrying 51 people including the driver, was struck as it went over a level crossing near the small town of Marhanets in eastern Ukraine at around 9am.
Ukrainian Transport Minister Kostyantyn Yefimenko was quoted by a news agency as saying the driver, who was killed, had driven forward onto the track even though passengers were warning him of flashing alarm lights.
The bus was thrust 30 meters along the track by the impact and its hulk remained crumpled and buckled under the front of the locomotive for hours after the accident.
The Emergencies Ministry said 43 people, three of them boys aged between seven and 15, had died. Officials said the toll could rise since some survivors had very bad injuries.
Television footage showed the bodies of victims laid out under blankets alongside the track.
President Viktor Yanukovich, who was in the region at the time, visited the disaster scene and later saw some of the survivors in a hospital.
In televised remarks, he said Ukraine needed to strengthen its laws related to the responsibility of drivers of public transport. He declared today a day of mourning.
Yefimenko was quoted by Ukrainski Novini news agency as saying the driver had at first stopped the bus and got out.
Quoting survivors, he said the driver then got into the bus and drove "right in front of the locomotive."
"Surviving passengers said they signaled to the driver that alarm lights were flashing and that he should not go forward," said Yefimenko.
Traffic police said the accident was the worst on the roads in terms of victims since Ukraine became independent in 1991.
First Deputy Prime Minister Andriy Kluyev, who was appointed to head an investigation into the tragedy, issued an order for all railway crossings in the country to be upgraded.
"A tragic event occurred this morning ... According to preliminary data, about 40 people have been killed," Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said at the start of a Cabinet meeting.
Ukrainian police said in a statement that the bus was traveling from a hospital in Marhanets to a nearby town, Gorodishche.
Thirty-eight people were killed immediately. The others died in hospital or on the way there. Several others were being treated for injuries.
The bus, carrying 51 people including the driver, was struck as it went over a level crossing near the small town of Marhanets in eastern Ukraine at around 9am.
Ukrainian Transport Minister Kostyantyn Yefimenko was quoted by a news agency as saying the driver, who was killed, had driven forward onto the track even though passengers were warning him of flashing alarm lights.
The bus was thrust 30 meters along the track by the impact and its hulk remained crumpled and buckled under the front of the locomotive for hours after the accident.
The Emergencies Ministry said 43 people, three of them boys aged between seven and 15, had died. Officials said the toll could rise since some survivors had very bad injuries.
Television footage showed the bodies of victims laid out under blankets alongside the track.
President Viktor Yanukovich, who was in the region at the time, visited the disaster scene and later saw some of the survivors in a hospital.
In televised remarks, he said Ukraine needed to strengthen its laws related to the responsibility of drivers of public transport. He declared today a day of mourning.
Yefimenko was quoted by Ukrainski Novini news agency as saying the driver had at first stopped the bus and got out.
Quoting survivors, he said the driver then got into the bus and drove "right in front of the locomotive."
"Surviving passengers said they signaled to the driver that alarm lights were flashing and that he should not go forward," said Yefimenko.
Traffic police said the accident was the worst on the roads in terms of victims since Ukraine became independent in 1991.
First Deputy Prime Minister Andriy Kluyev, who was appointed to head an investigation into the tragedy, issued an order for all railway crossings in the country to be upgraded.
"A tragic event occurred this morning ... According to preliminary data, about 40 people have been killed," Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said at the start of a Cabinet meeting.
Ukrainian police said in a statement that the bus was traveling from a hospital in Marhanets to a nearby town, Gorodishche.
Thirty-eight people were killed immediately. The others died in hospital or on the way there. Several others were being treated for injuries.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
