42 Die When Train and Bus Collide in Ukraine

An accident involving a bus and a train left 42 people dead and 9 others injured in the Dnipropetrovsk region of Ukraine. The country’s Emergency Situations Ministry said the accident occurred Tuesday when the bus crossed over train tracks. The train slammed into the bus, which was carrying 51 passengers, and dragged it about 98 feet before coming to a stop. The train crossing is located near the village of Maksimovka.

Officials say it appears the bus driver disregarded lights that warned a train was crossing and the passage was closed to vehicles. "The bus was standing still. But then the driver took his seat and started driving right in front of the locomotive. The surviving passengers are saying today that they were shouting to the driver that the alarm had sounded and he shouldn't drive,” Transport Minister Kostyantyn Yefymenko told journalists.

The Interior Ministry says the death toll could rise. Many of the injured are in critical condition.

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