At least 140 people hurt as Russian train smashes into truck

MOSCOW (Reuters) -At least 140 people were injured in southern Russia on Monday when a train carrying 800 passengers smashed into a truck on a level crossing, causing eight carriages to derail, Russian Railways said.

The driver of the train, which was travelling from Kazan in Tatarstan to Adler on the Black Sea, slammed on the brakes when he saw the Kamaz truck, whose driver had broken traffic rules and entered the crossing despite alarms, Russian Railways added.

The train hit the truck at about 65 kph (40 mph) near Kotelnikovo station, which lies in the southern Volgograd region about 1,200 km (750 miles) south of Moscow.

"About 140 people received cuts and bruises," Russian Railways said, adding that 15 people, including three children, had been taken to hospital for treatment.

The driver of the Kamaz, who was thrown about 15 metres (50 feet) by the impact, was in a grave condition, said the Mash Telegram channel, which published video showing the battered remains of the cabin of the truck and a man who it said was the driver with blood on his face.

Mash said earlier that two people had been killed in the collision, but that was not confirmed by Russian officials.

Video published by state news agency TASS showed carriages derailed, some of them twisted.

Russia's emergency ministry said fire and rescue workers were trying to free passengers, saying a total of nine carriages had been derailed.

(Reporting by Gleb Stolaryov in Tbilisi and Lucy Papachristou in London; Writing by Guy Faulconbridge;Editing by Kirsten Donovan, Gareth Jones and Helen Popper)