Russian media has revealed that a head-on crash in which a man was killed involved Vladimir Putin's official black BMW.

However, the Russian President was not in the car at the time when it was struck head-on by another vehicle which crossed over from the opposite side of the road.

CCTV images of the footage taken on Kutuzovsky Avenue in the Russian capital Moscow show how the Mercedes collided head-on with the presidential BMW.

Russian media said that the car was being driven by Putin's favourite official driver, and that he was killed instantly, but that the President was not in the vehicle at the time. The car is officially registered as belonging to the Federation Council, also known as the Russian Senate or Upper Chamber of Parliament.

Medics arrived at the scene and said that the presidential driver had been killed on the spot, while the Mercedes driver who was travelling alone has been taken to hospital in a critical condition.

The driver who was killed was not named, although it was reported that he had notched up more than 40 years of driving experience as an official driver.

Police have only confirmed that they are investigating, without giving any further details.

The clean-up operation took several hours and a huge traffic jam formed when Kutuzovsky Avenue was closed after the crash.