MOSCOW, May 12 (RIA Novosti) - Seven people were killed and four badly injured in a traffic accident on a federal highway linking Moscow and St. Petersburg on Monday, a spokesman for the Emergencies Ministry said.

A bus carrying 20 people crashed into a parked truck on a highway not far from the Russian capital at 3:30 p.m. Moscow time (11:30 GMT), the spokesman said.

He also added that four people were seriously injured and that others with minor injuries had received medical treatment at the scene of the crash.

Traffic police are currently attempting to establish the cause of the accident.