ROSTOV-ON-DON, July 27 (RIA Novosti) - Eight people were killed in a car crash in south Russia's Krasnodar Territory during the night, the regional emergency service said on Monday.
The head-on collision between a Lada and a Honda was reported by eyewitnesses soon after midnight near the village of Saratovskaya, a spokesman for the Southern Federal District's emergency service said.
The collision caused a fire. Seven of the victims were in the Honda, and one in the Lada.
The network of Russian highways is one of the world's longest, but only 20% of regional roads meet international safety standards. The 1,167-km Don Federal Highway (M4), which links the capital with southern Russian regions and port cities, is considered one of the country's most dangerous.
At least 3,000 people are killed in accidents on the highway each year during the summer months, when the mostly two-lane road suffers from heavy congestion caused by summer vacationers on the way to Black Sea resorts, and by trucks transporting southern fruit to densely populated central and northern areas.
