12 Oct 2010

Massive crashes kill more than 50 in Europe

9:51 pm on 12 October 2010

More than 50 people have been killed in separate road accidents involving buses in Eastern Europe.

Officials say at least 37 people have been killed in a collision between a train and a small bus in eastern Ukraine.

And the police say a road crash south of the Polish capital, Warsaw, has left 17 people dead.

In Ukraine, railway officials say the bus attempted to cross the track, ignoring a siren warning of an approaching train.

Police say the accident occurred in the town of Ordzhonikidze.

A road crash south of the Polish capital, Warsaw, has left 17 people dead.

The accident occurred at dawn in thick fog when a lorry and a minibus collided 80km from Warsaw.

Sixteen people were confirmed dead at the scene and one later died in hospital. One person is being treated for serious injuries.

The police say the Volkswagen Transporter minivan was thought to be taking 18 people, probably seasonal workers, to their jobs and was overcrowded. All those killed were travelling on the bus.

They say excessive speed and poor weather conditions may have caused the crash.