At least 11 people have been killed after a passenger bus crashed head-on into a heavy truck early Wednesday in Russia's Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine.
The accident took place when a minibus loaded with 14 people veered into the opposite lane and crashed into an oncoming KamAZ truck, the Interfax news agency cited Russia's Interior Ministry as saying.
The minibus had a Ukrainian number plate, the report said.
Tabloid Lifenews later reported the 14 passengers, all Ukrainian citizens, were traveling from the Russian city of Belgorod to Luhansk — a region controlled by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Evgeni Perebiynis told Interfax that the ministry was trying to establish whether any Ukrainian citizens had been on board the vehicle at the time of the crash.
A Russian investigative team is currently on site to establish the causes of the accident and the identity of the victims, Interfax reported, adding that a criminal case had been opened into the crash.
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