The Krasnodar Territory Health Ministry on Thursday stated that at least 44 people were hospitalised while three lost their lives after a bus and a car fell off a cliff following a collision near Novorossiysk.
As per preliminary information, the bus and car collided at a highway connecting Novorossiysk and the Kerch Strait, after which the two vehicles fell off a 98-feet cliff.
The passengers of the car -- a woman and two minor children -- lost their lives, according to Sputnik.
Veniamin Kondratyev, the Krasnodar Territory Governor, stated that an emergency centre was set up following the accident.
The hospitalised include 12 children, while 13 other people have undergone emergency surgeries.
"Forty-four people have been hospitalised after a road accident involving a bus in Novorossiysk. Thirteen people have had emergency surgeries," the local Health Ministry confirmed. Five out of the 44 injured are in a critical condition.