Moscow:
At least five people were killed and 15 injured on Tuesday after parts of a freight train derailed and collided with a passenger train south of Moscow, officials said.
The emergencies ministry said the accident occurred at 1:00 pm local time (0900 GMT) near the town of Naro-Fominsk, about 80 kilometres (50 miles) southwest of Moscow, as the passenger train was travelling from the Russian capital to Moldova's capital Chisinau.
The interior ministry said at least five people were killed and 15 injured.
Russian news agencies quoted officials as saying between 11 and 45 people had been injured. Five of the injured were in serious condition, a local official told RIA-Novosti.
Rescue coordinator Vadim Andronov told agency ITAR-TASS that the death toll was likely to rise.
"One of the carriages of the passenger train was crushed by the freight train wagons. Rescuers are working to pull out injured people being crushed by the wagon," he said.
Russian Railways said in a statement that 16 wagons of the freight train had derailed, damaging at least two carriages of the passenger train.
The cause of the accident was not immediately known. Investigators were on site and officials said a criminal probe had been launched.