Moscow - A passenger bus swerved off
course and drove into a busy pedestrian underpass in Moscow on
Monday, killing at least four people, Russian news agencies
reported.
Video from the scene posted on social media showed a bus
veering off the road and plunging down the steps of a pedestrian
underpass, crushing several people beneath its wheels.
The driver of the bus had been detained by police, agencies
said, after he lost control of the vehicle. The incident
occurred on one of the Russian capital's busiest roads near the
Slavyansky Boulevard metro station.
Monday was an ordinary working day in Russia where Orthodox
Christmas will be celebrated on January 7.
Video of bus plowing into subway underground in Moscow today, four reported casualties yet pic.twitter.com/Q8SYdhFtdS
— English Russia (@EnglishRussia1) December 25, 2017
An unnamed emergency services source told the TASS news
agency that the number of fatalities had risen to five people.
There were also unconfirmed reports that some 15 people had been
injured.
The Interfax news agency said investigators were looking
into whether the incident had occurred as a result of a
technical fault with the bus.
Ten ambulances, fire service personnel, and three medivac
helicopters were on the scene, agencies reported.