YEREVAN. - Armenia’s Minister of Transport and Communication Gagik Beglaryan will leave this evening for Russia’s Tula Oblast (province) where the bus travelling from Moscow to Yerevan crashed, the Ministry representatives told Armenian News – NEWS.am.

The Minister has headed the committee on providing support to the victims of the traffic accident. The committee includes representatives of Armenia’s MFA, Ministry of Territorial Administration and Emergency Situations (MTAES), Ministry of Healthcare, Police and General Department of Civil Aviation.

The passenger bus, which was traveling from Moscow to Yerevan, had the accident on Tuesday at around 2:10am, in the Uzlovsky District in Tula Oblast (province), Russia.

There were 59 passengers on the bus, but no children were among them.

At present, there are reports on eight casualties and 47 injured, and the latter were taken to the nearby hospitals.

A technical malfunction in the vehicle is considered a probable cause of this tragedy. But there is also a possibility that the bus driver might have fallen asleep behind the steering wheel.

Driver Garnik Harutyunyan was arrested in connection with the incident.