At least 13 dead after bus carrying mine workers plunges off cliff in Russia’s Sakha Republic

At least 13 people were killed and 20 others injured when a bus carrying mine workers went over a cliff near the Vostochnaya Denisovskaya coal mine in Russia’s Sakha Republic (Yakutia) on Sunday night.

According to the regional Emergency Situations Ministry and prosecutor’s office, the bus veered off the road as it was leaving the site, plunged off a 30-meter (100-foot) cliff, and overturned. There were 33 people on board at the time.

The local prosecutor’s office has opened an inquiry into the incident. Russia’s Investigative Committee said it has launched a criminal case on charges of providing services that do not meet safety standards for life and health.

Officials in the Sakha Republic’s Neryungrinsky District, where the mine is, have declared July 22 a day of mourning.