Nine killed in Crimea minibus crash after driver falls asleep at wheel

Members of Russian Emergencies Ministry and police officers inspect a minibus that crashed into a truck near the town of Belogorsk, Crimea July 31, 2020. Russia's Emergencies Ministry in the Republic of Crimea/Handout via REUTERS

MOSCOW (Reuters) - At least nine people were killed after a minibus crashed in Crimea in the early hours of Friday, authorities in the Russian-annexed peninsula said.

The driver of the microbus, which was carrying tourists from the southern Russian city of Krasnodar, fell asleep at the wheel and crashed into a large truck near a village northeast of the regional capital Simferopol, Russian news agencies reported.