The Siberian region of Omsk will hold a day of mourning on Thursday after 23 people were killed within a day in two large traffic accidents, the regional administration said.
Sixteen people died after a KamAZ truck collided with a commuter bus outside the city of Omsk on Wednesday, in what was also the largest road accident in Russia for several months, the Flash Siberia news site reported. The truck was carrying a load of bricks, which increased the devastating effect of the impact, Komsomolskaya Pravda reported.
Another seven people were killed in a head-on collision between a Russian-made Lada and a Toyota sedan in a separate incident, Flash Siberia reported.
Omsk regional Governor Viktor Nazarov ordered Thursday for flags to be flown at half-mast and urged local broadcasters and businesses to cancel entertainment programs and events as a sign of respect for the dead, his office said in an online statement.
