Tour Bus Carrying Chinese Visitors Collides With SUV in Siberia; Priest Killed

A tour bus carrying Chinese tourists was involved in a serious crash with an SUV near Lake Baikal, Russian authorities confirmed. The accident took place on the evening of July 20 along the Baikal Highway, close to the village of Listvyanka in the Irkutsk region. Emergency services told RIA Novosti that a Mitsubishi Pajero slammed into the side of the bus.

The driver of the SUV, a 59-year-old man, died at the scene. He has been identified by the Irkutsk diocese as Vyacheslav Pushkarev, a priest who served as the rector of a church in the village of Khomutovo. The bus driver and the Chinese tourists on board initially did not require medical attention at the crash site. However, several travelers later sought help from doctors, reporting minor injuries that were not life-threatening.

Local authorities have launched an investigation into the incident. This crash comes just weeks after another high-profile accident in Russia, in which 40 North Korean citizens were involved in a collision with a Gazelle van. In that case, officials suggested the driver may have fallen asleep at the wheel. No such cause has been confirmed in the bus crash, and officials continue to piece together what happened on the Baikal Highway.