Bus sliced in half in collision with lorry in Moscow surburb; 18 dead (VIDEO)

At least 18 people, including a 6-year-old girl, are dead after a lorry collided with a packed passenger bus in a Moscow suburb on Saturday.

According to reports, the bus was carrying about 60 people in Oznobishino on Saturday afternoon when the lorry carrying pavement stones crashed into it, splitting the bus in half and forcing other motorists to swerve wildly to avoid the wreckage.

At least 26 people were injured, the country's Emergency Services Ministry said in a statement.

Those hospitalized include the drivers of both vehicles and two children between 8 and 10 years old, according to Russian news agency RIA Novosti.

Eyewitness video being broadcast on state television shows the lorry speeding across the road before plowing into the passenger bus.

The lorry driver was thrown from his vehicle and is seen looking back at the crash scene in shock.

Officials say the lorry driver had a history of causing accidents, being responsible for at least six.

Russia has one of the worst road safety records in the world, with approximately 28,000 deaths reported in 2012 alone.