MOSCOW — At least 12 people, including nine members of a children's acrobatics team, have been killed in a road collision in eastern Siberia, officials said.

The interior ministry in Russia's Khanty-Mansiysk district said the crash happened late Sunday afternoon on a highway linking two Siberian oil towns. Early reports indicate the driver of the bus carrying the acrobatics squad lost control and collided with a truck in the incoming lane, killing at least 12 people and injuring 20 more.

The governor's office said the bus was taking the children back to their hometown after a competition in the regional capital.

The Investigative Committee would not immediate name a cause for the crash, but said it was looking at different factors including low visibility and bad weather conditions. Temperatures were around -17 Celsius (1.4 Fahrenheit) Sunday evening and there were reports of a blizzard.

The Interfax news agency quoted a local police spokeswoman as saying the drivers of both vehicles, who are now in the hospital, have tested negative for alcohol. </s> Russian officials say at least 14 people have been killed after a bus caught fire following a nighttime collision with a truck that was being towed and six other people have been killed in separate road accidents. The bus crash took place early today in Russia's central Tatarstan Republic.

Start the conversation, or Read more at India.com. </s> A Russian city is in mourning after a traffic accident killed 12 people, including 10 members of a children's acrobatics team.

Police say at least 19 other people were injured when a bus carrying 34 passengers, including 27 children, collided with a truck and two other vehicles on a road in northwestern Siberia on December 4.

The children were returning to their hometown of Nefteyugansk from a competition in the city of Khanty-Mansiisk.

On December 5, authorities in Nefteyugansk announced a three-day mourning period

Russia's Investigative Committee said an investigation was launched on suspicion of "violation of traffic regulations leading to multiple deaths."

It said requests for arrest warrants for the drivers of the bus and the truck had been filed with prosecutors. Both drivers survived.

President Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences to the families of the victims on December 4.

Based on reporting by TASS and Interfax </s> Russian officials say at least 14 people have been killed after a bus caught fire following a nighttime collision with a truck that was being towed and six other people have been killed in separate road accidents.

The bus crash took place early Sunday in Russia's central Tatarstan Republic. Footage from the scene showed the burnt-out shell of the bus. Russian investigators said a criminal case has been opened.

In other deadly road accidents, four people died early Sunday after a car hit a tree near the city of Nizhny Novgorod, east of Moscow, and two teenagers were killed late Saturday when a truck plowed into a bus stop in the western Russian city of Bryansk.

Russia has a poor road safety record with over 20,000 official traffic fatalities last year.
At least 12 people, including 10 children, are killed in a bus crash in Siberia, Russia.