Russian President Vladimir Putin's personal driver has been killed in a shock car crash on a Moscow highway and the incident was captured on CCTV.

Footage from the Russian capital shows Putin's driver, who is known by the initials 'MK', driving along a five-lane highway known as Kutuzovsky Avenue on 2 September.

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The BMW, which had previously ferried Putin to and from official functions, can be seen crashing through a barrier in the central reservation and smashing it to smithereens.

The luxury car then collides head on with a Mercedes. The two vehicles are left half-pulverised, lying smouldering in the centre of the road following the crash.

MK, who has been pictured several times with the Russian president, had been a government driver for 40-years. The office responsible for organising ministerial transport in Russia, the UDP, said it was the first accident in his long career. For security purposes, the names of official drivers in Russia are kept a secret which is why the driver has been referred to only by his initials.

An eyewitness to the accident told the Russian news website mk.ru that MK died on the spot. The driver of the Mercedes was rushed to hospital in a critical condition.