Five Die, Fifteen Injured As Trains Collide Near Moscow, Russia

At least five people have died after two trains collided south-west of the Russian capital Moscow, Tuesday.

Five people died and 15 were injured as a freight train hit a passenger train, according to a preliminary report from Russia's Interior Ministry.

According to Russian news agency Itar-Tass, the trains collided between the stations of Bekasovo and Naro-Fominsk, located on the Kiev-bound railway some 55 kilometers from Moscow's center.

Several carriages on the freight train came off the rails and hit the passenger train which has then derailed, the BBC reports.

A criminal investigation has been opened following the crash, Russian Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin told Interfax.

The cause of the accident was not immediately clear.