At least 16 people have died and another three hospitalised after two lorries collided with a stationary minibus in Russia's Ulyanovsk region.

"According to preliminary data, the driver of a heavy goods vehicle did not slow down in good time and hit a stationary minibus," the Ulyanovsk region's interior ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

Road works at the scene of the incident meant the minibus was waiting in a queue to move, it said. "The minibus was wedged between two lorries," the ministry said.

Video footage broadcast by the police showed the crumpled husk of what appeared to be a minibus sandwiched between two lorries and emergency service workers later inspecting the flattened vehicle.

The accident left 16 dead, 14 Kyrgyz citizens and two Russians, rescue services quoted by the TASS news agency.

Kyrgyzstan's foreign affairs minister confirmed the death of the country's 14 citizens in a statement.

TASS also quoted a law enforcement source as saying that the lorry driver was among those killed.

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'Criminal investigation'

Three other people — two men and a woman —were taken to hospital in a serious condition, Ulyanovsk regional governor Alexei Ruskikh wrote on Telegram.

Russia's Investigative Committee has opened a criminal investigation, TASS reported.

Violations of road safety regulations are common in Russia, where several deadly bus accidents have occurred in recent years.

In January, five people were killed and 21 injured in a bus accident in the Riazan region, about 270 kilometres south of Moscow.

In December 2019, a bus with around 40 passengers on board plunged into a frozen river in the Zabaikalsk region of Siberia, killing 19 people and injuring 21.

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