“On a section of the Tavrida highway between Belogorsk and Simferopol, a Mercedes Sprinter minibus crashed into a stationary KamAZ truck with a trailer. As a result of the accident, eight minibus passengers were killed, seven more were injured," the Emergencies Ministry's press department said.
The Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs later confirmed to Sputnik that the accident was caused by the driver of the minibus falling asleep at the wheel. Traffic officers are currently at the scene conducting an investigation.
Earlier in the morning, the Ministry of Emergencies had registered seven deaths. The accident was reported to the ministry at 05:15 local time [02:15 GMT] and there are no children among the dead.
