MOSCOW -At least 16 people died and another three were hospitalised after a lorry collided with a stationary minibus in Russia's Ulyanovsk region on Sunday, local law enforcement said.
"According to preliminary data, the driver of a heavy goods vehicle did not slow down in good time and hit a stationary minibus," the Ulyanovsk region's interior ministry said in a statement.
Road works at the scene of the incident meant the minibus was waiting in a queue to move, it said. "The minibus was wedged between two lorries," the ministry said.
Video footage broadcast by the police showed the crumpled husk of what appeared to be a minibus sandwiched between two lorries and emergency service workers later inspecting the flattened vehicle.
Russia's Investigative Committee has opened a criminal investigation, the TASS news agency reported.
TASS quoted a law enforcement source as saying that the lorry driver was among those killed.