At least six people were killed and 25 people injured after a freight train collided with a passenger train outside of Moscow on Tuesday, the Health Ministry said in a statement.
Injured passengers, many of them in a serious condition, were taken to nearby hospitals, according to the statement posted on the Health Ministry website.
The accident occurred at about 12:30 local time near the town of Naro-Fominsk, some 60 kilometers southwest of Moscow. A freight container derailed, crashing into the passenger train that was heading for Moldova with about 400 people onboard, the Investigative Committee said in a statement.
Three of the passenger cars were damaged by the collision, the statement said.
Professional support was being offered to victims and relatives of those involved in the crash, Emergency Situations Minister Vladimir Puchkov was quoted as saying by Interfax.
Puchkov also instructed the Interior Ministry to communicate directly with authorities in Moldova to facilitate information sharing between the two countries, the report said.
Moldovan Deputy Transport Minister Boris Gherasim told Interfax that everything was being done to identity the victims.
"We are in constant communication with the staff at the consular department of the Moldovan Embassy in Moscow,” Gherasim said.
The Investigative Committee has opened a criminal investigation into the collision.
