MOSCOW, May 24 (RIA Novosti) - Seven Christian pilgrims were killed and eight injured in western Ukraine on Sunday in a minibus crash en route to a monastery, the country's emergencies ministry said.
Ministry spokesman Igor Krol said 24 people were in the vehicle at the time of the accident early in the morning. The wounded are being treated in a nearby hospital.
The Orthodox Christians were on a pilgrimage to the Krehovsky monastery in the west of the Lviv region.
Police spokeswoman Svetlana Dobrovolska said the accident occurred after the driver of an oncoming lorry fell asleep behind the wheel, crashing into the minibus.
Ukraine has one of the worst road fatality rates in Europe.
