Six people have lost their lives and another has been injured in a collision between a minibus and a passenger train in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast, in the easternmost part of Russia, according to information released by the Far Eastern Railway.
"According to preliminary information, six people from the minibus have died in the accident. Another passenger has been seriously injured. Medical emergency services are working at the scene," explained the Russian agency, quoted by the Russian news agency TASS.
The initial investigations suggest that the driver of the minibus crossed a level crossing when the traffic light was red, which triggered the impact with train 35 of the Khabarovsk 1-Blagoveshchensk route.
The train driver managed to activate the emergency brake, although he could not avoid the disaster. None of the occupants of the train were injured and no derailment was recorded. After the collision, the train was able to resume its journey 37 minutes after the accident.