Eight people, including children, injured in horrific crash in northern Kazakhstan

Photo provided by the DP of North Kazakhstan Region

Tengrinews.kz — Eight people, including children, were injured in a horrific accident in the North Kazakhstan region.

A video showing the aftermath of the accident appeared on social media. The author of the video says the injured driver was lying several meters away from the car, the engine was thrown dozens of meters from the vehicle, and the foreign-made cars themselves were reduced to twisted metal.

According to preliminary data, one of the vehicles had six children inside. All of them were taken to hospital with various injuries. The press service of the regional health department said information about their condition would be provided later.

As the press service of the regional police department told Tengrinews.kz, the accident involving a Mazda and a Toyota Estima occurred on the Petropavlovsk — Kokshetau highway near the village of Astrakhanka in the Akkaiyn district.

“As a result of the accident, the driver of the Mazda and seven people who were inside the Toyota Estima were taken to medical facilities. A criminal case has been opened over the accident. The circumstances of the incident are currently being established. A procedural decision will be made based on the results of the investigation,” the North Kazakhstan Regional Police Department commented.

Police reminded drivers of the need to strictly observe the speed limit, take road and weather conditions into account, avoid entering the oncoming lane and remain extremely attentive behind the wheel.

Meanwhile, residents of North Kazakhstan are discussing the fact that this accident again involved a private carrier.

Residents of the region have repeatedly raised concerns about the safety of intercity private transportation arranged through apps. They believe that taxi drivers often make several trips a day to earn more, significantly exceed the speed limit and do not put their phones down, managing to read and respond in messengers and special apps for carriers while driving.

In recent years, several road accidents involving such private carriers have been registered in the region.