Heavy snowfall causes 6,000 accidents, 24 deaths in Moscow

MOSCOW - Heavy snowfall in Moscow and in the surrounding areas caused more than 6,000 traffic accidents over the weekend that resulted in 24 deaths, the police said Monday.

According to Moscow’s traffic police department, a total of 4,200 car accidents were registered Saturday and Sunday in the capital, in which four people were killed and 78 injured.

In the Moscow Region over the same period, 20 people were killed and 86 injured in about 2,000 traffic accidents.

‘All major deadly accidents Saturday were caused by traffic violations,’ said Svetlana Landa, a spokeswoman for the Moscow Region’s traffic police department.

The number of traffic violations registered in Moscow and the Moscow Region stood at 12,500.