国际英语新闻：Death toll in Ukrainian traffic collision rises to 43

KIEV, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- As many as 43 people were killed and 9 others were injured when a bus collided with a train locomotive on Tuesday morning in the Dnipropetrovsk region in eastern Ukraine, officials said.

The incident took place at 9 a.m. this morning near the town of Marhanets, south of the main regional city of Dnipropetrovsk when a inter-city passenger bus attempted to cross the track, ignoring the warning of an approaching train.

The bus was smashed into a pile of metal by the blue locomotive, which was not pulling any cars. Television footage showed emergency workers piling bodies alongside the tracks outside the town of Marhanets in the Dnipropetrovsk region.

"The bus driver ignored the siren of the oncoming train," said Lyudmila Bolshakova, spokeswoman for local police.

Witnesses said the driver also ignored a red light.

Ukraine's Railways said the train driver saw the bus heading toward the tracks from 500 meters away and sounded the distress siren, which the driver ignored. The train driver applied the emergency brake system, but the locomotive was traveling at a speed of 75 kilometers per hour and was unable to stop in time.