Horrific moment a bus is hit by a train in Kazakhstan after it got stuck on a level crossing, killing the driver as 66 escape with their lives
- Long-distance bus from Russia to Kazakhstan was hit at level crossing by a train
- Driver was killed by the impact while nine other passengers were injured
- 57 people managed to flee via the back door after driver told them to evacuate
- Witnesses said bus ignored red signal and got stuck when traffic stopped
This is the horrifying moment a bus driver was killed and nine passengers were injured after their vehicle was hit by a train when it got stuck on a level crossing.
Witnesses said the driver had ignored warning signals and pulled on to the level crossing, in Kazakhstan, but got stuck when traffic around him stopped.
Fortunately, 57 passengers escaped without injury after the driver opened the back doors at the last moment and told them to evacuate.
They include a mother and her two daughters aged five and three.
A bus driver died and nine of his passengers were injured after his coach was hit by a train as it travelled to Almaty, in Kazakhstan
Fortunately, 57 people were able to escaped unharmed after the driver opened the back doors of the bus at the last minute and told them to flee
Witnesses said the bus ignored warning signals and pulled over the level crossing, then got stuck when the traffic stopped
While most were quick to flee, one witness said: ‘Others did not realise the danger and were slow to leave.’
Video footage captured the final moments before the crash as the train driver frantically sounded his horn but was unable to stop before the collision.
The train ploughs into the front of the coach, which lurches to one side and is carried down the tracks.
Drivers stuck in traffic around the junction then get out of their cars and go running towards the scene of the accident to try and help.
A woman is heard moaning in agony by the track in the mayhem after the collision.
One account said: ‘The bus got blocked right on the railway crossing. The driver panicked and failed to open the front door.
After the collision, motorists who were stuck in traffic went running to help pull survivors out of the wreck and perform first aid until medics could arrive
Those on board the bus, which was in the final stages of its 40-hour journey from Russia to Kazakhstan, said some passengers did not realise the danger and were slow to leave
‘He opened the back door and ordered people to leave. But he failed to jump out himself.’
A man said: ‘I managed to grab one boy and took him out. I ran away from the bus and saw the train hitting it. The driver was killed.’
Another witness said the driver’s wife worked as the conductor on the bus.
‘She escaped but saw her husband killed when the train hit the vehicle.’
The couple had four children.
Government official Ruslan Imankulov said the crash happened at 7.20pm Sunday.
‘Despite the warning signals, the driver of the bus drove over the railway crossing. As a result, the bus was hit,’ said Imankulov, an adviser to the minister of industry and infrastructure.
A witness said that it was ‘usual’ for cars and buses to go over the crossing after the red signals started because there was a long gap between the warning lights and the train coming.
Local government ministers said an investigation has been launched into how the accident happened and whether traffic rules were broken
But this time a traffic jam formed on the crossing and the bus was ‘stuck’.
‘People did not rush to get out until the very last moment,’ said one passenger.
The accident was some 20 miles from Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city and its commercial hub.
The bus was close to the end of a 1,400 mile journey from Ekaterinburg in Russia to Kazakhstan.
The train was en route from Almaty to Kostanay.
No casualties among passengers on the train were reported.
A criminal investigation has been launched into the flouting of traffic rules.