MOSCOW, February 15 (RIA Novosti) – Ten people died in a traffic accident involving a logging truck in Russia’s Leningrad Region on Saturday, officials said.
The crash happened when a Volkswagen van drove into the oncoming lane and collided with the logging truck near the town of Vyborg, not far from the Finnish border, the police said.
Ten people died at the scene, and two passengers from the minibus and the driver of the truck are in intensive care in Vyborg.
Regional prosecutors said they had inspected the scene of the fatal accident and that there was black ice on the road, “which had caused the Volkswagen to skid into oncoming traffic at a right turn, where it collided with the Scania truck.”
A criminal case has been launched into the accident, and Vyborg prosecutors said they were investigating whether the road’s maintenance had played a role in the tragedy.
The section of the road where the accident happened is rented by Finland, which bears responsibility for maintaining it, prosecutors said in a statement.
Updated with new lede, details, statement from prosecutors.
