YEREVAN. - Artashes Hovhannisyan, who died early Tuesday as a result of the crash of the bus travelling from Moscow to Yerevan, was from Nerkin Getashen community of Armenia’s Gegharkunik prvince. He had left for Moscow as a migrant worker, the community leader Karo Gevorgyan told Armenian News – NEWS.am correspondent.

He also said that Harutyunyan had periodically visited Russia during the recent years.

“He was married and had two sons. His parents were pedagogues,” Gevorgyan said.

The names of all eight passengers who died as a result of the tragedy are already known:  

1. Hakob Alikhanyan Lyudvig (b. 1960),

2. Hayk Hovhannisayn Zhora

3. Hrach Badalyan (1981),

4. Gagik Manukyan Armen (b. 1961),

5. Varuzh Stepanyan (b. 1954),

6. Spartak Nalbandyan Tsolak (b. 1947),

7. Garnik Gurgen Hakobyan (b. 1961),

8. Artashes Hovhannisayn (b. 1980):

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.