At least 41 people have been killed after a train hit a bus at a railway crossing in Ukraine - the worst road traffic accident since the country gained independence.
The bus, carrying 51 people including the driver, was struck as it went over a level crossing near the small town of Marhanets in eastern Ukraine.
Ukrainian Transport Minister Kostyantyn Yefimenko says the driver, who was killed, had driven forward onto the track even though passengers were warning him of flashing alarm lights.
The Emergencies Ministry said 41 people, three of them boys aged between 7 and 15, had died. Officials said the toll could rise since some survivors had very bad injuries.
President Viktor Yanukovich, who was in the region at the time, visited the disaster scene and later saw some of the survivors in a hospital.
Survivors say the driver got out of the bus to inspect the area. But despite hearing sirens and protests from those on the bus, he drove "right in front of the locomotive".
"Surviving passengers said they signalled to the driver that alarm lights were flashing and that he should not go forward," said Yefimenko.
On impact, 38 people were killed. The others died in hospital or on the way there. Several others were being treated for injuries.
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