At least 16 people killed as bus 'torn apart' by speeding train in Russia

At least 16 people are reported dead in Russia's Vladimir region after a speeding train crashed into a bus at a railway crossing on Friday (6 October).

Authorities said that the bus was "literally torn apart" in the accident that took place around 3:39am local time (1.39am BST) near the Pokrov station in Vladimir — located around 110km east of Moscow.

The regional governor's press secretary told Russia's RIA Novosti that the bus had a Kazakhstan licence plate and was carrying Uzbekistan citizens.

Preliminary data from the Russian Investigative Committee said that the fatalities also included a child. All the dead and injured victims are said to be passengers of the bus.

Russian Railways confirmed to Russian media that none of the passengers or crew of the train were hurt in the crash.

The injured were taken to different hospitals in the region, authorities said. Medics from a local hospital told RIA Novosti that two injured children, a boy and a girl, are in serious condition.

Initial reports suggested that the bus ignored a red signal at the railway crossing and stalled while moving through the railway tracks.

"People inside the bus were sleeping, there were about 50 of them," a local official told media. "The driver shouted and 34 people ran out of the bus to push it. They survived. Those who remained in the bus died. It got literally torn apart."

The train was carrying migrant workers from Uzbekistan and was travelling from St Petersburg to Nijini-Novgorod at the time of the crash, Sky News reported.