A freight train smashed into a bus at a level crossing in southern Ukraine yesterday, killing 14 people, including two children, and injuring eight.

The Emergencies Ministry said four of the injured were in hospital in a serious condition. It said the driver of the bus, operating a local route to the Black Sea port of Odessa, had broken traffic rules. News reports said the crossing had no gate to keep cars off the tracks. "According to initial conclusions, the accident occurred as a result of a failure to observe traffic rules and of the derailment of the train," a ministry statement said.

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