Five people have been killed and 15 injured after a bus drove off the road and plunged into an underground passageway in Moscow, crushing several people beneath.

Video from the scene posted on social media showed a vehicle veering off the road and falling into the passageway.

The driver of the bus had been detained by police, agencies said, after he lost control of the vehicle.

The incident occurred on one of the Russian capital’s busiest roads near the Slavyansky Boulevard metro station.

Monday was an ordinary working day in Russia where Orthodox Christmas will be celebrated on Jan. 7.

An unnamed emergency services source told the TASS news agency that the number of fatalities had risen to five people. There were also unconfirmed reports that some 15 people had been injured.

The Interfax news agency said investigators were looking into whether the incident had occurred as a result of a technical fault with the bus.

Ten ambulances, fire service personnel, and three medivac helicopters were on the scene, agencies reported.

Source: independent.co.uk