He said the crash occurred at 9:30 p.m. local time (10:30 p.m. Moscow time) along the Simferopol-Alushta highway near the village of Izobilnoye.
"Initial reports indicate that the chartered bus, which was transporting people on holiday from Umani to Yalta, experienced brake failure and slammed into a retaining wall. It literally tore the bus's side off, and several passengers were thrown clear at full speed," he said.
Fifteen ambulance units responded to the scene of the crash, and 41 people were hospitalized, seven in intensive care. A total of 54 people were on board.
"The accident occurred at exactly the same spot that an accident in 2004 which claimed 17 lives. On that occasion, a bus went off a cliff. This time, the retaining wall prevented the bus from going over," the spokesman said.
Traffic has been blocked off, and an investigative team is working at the scene.
