Friends of the Rail Forum

BBC 12 October 2010 Last updated at 06:56 ET

Ukraine train and bus collision kills 40

At least 40 people have been killed and 10 hurt in a collision between a train and a small bus in eastern Ukraine, officials say.

The incident happened near the town of Marhanets, south of the main regional city of Dnipropetrovsk.

The inter-city passenger bus attempted to cross the track, ignoring the warning of an approaching train, reports said.

Some of the injured are critical and the death toll could rise.

'Utter carnage'

The ministry of the interior said the train had dragged the bus for 30 metres after the collision.

"The driver of the bus broke traffic laws by driving through a red light before colliding with the train," a spokeswoman for the regional traffic police told Agence France-Presse news agency.

"It's utter carnage there."

President Viktor Yanukovych conveyed his condolences to the relatives of the victims and declared Wednesday a national day of mourning.

"The [president] has ordered law enforcement agencies to carry out a detailed investigation to establish those responsible for the accident," a statement on the presidential website said.

Mr Yanukovych said a committee led by Deputy Prime Minister Andriy Kluyev would investigate and help the families affected.

Ukraine has a bad safety record due to the poor condition of many roads and drivers who regularly flout the rules.

Ukraine bus crash kills 40

Crowded bus collides with train while crossing tracks near Marhanets

* Associated Press
* guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 12 October 2010 13.58 BST

A crowded passenger bus collided with a train in eastern Ukraine today, killing 40 people and leaving 11 critically injured, police said.

The interior ministry said the crash happened outside the town of Marhanets, in the Dnipropetrovsk region, when the bus attempted to cross the track, ignoring a siren that indicated an oncoming train.

Railway officials said all the casualties had been on the bus.

The president of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, declared a national day of mourning and the prime minister, Mykola Azarov, ordered his government to pay the families of the dead 100,000 hryvna (£9,100) each.

Azarov also instructed transport officials to install automated crossing gates at all the country's railway crossings to prevent cars, buses and trucks from ignoring the siren.

Road and railway accidents are common in Ukraine, where roads are in poor condition, many vehicles are badly maintained and drivers and passengers routinely disregard safety and traffic rules.