Three people have been killed and eight others are fighting for their lives. This evening a coach carrying tourists crashed into a rock face in southwestern France.
The bus crash occurred when the bus was traveling in the dark near the Porté-Puymorens ski resort in the Pyrenees, near Andorra, after the driver reportedly lost control of the vehicle.
It plowed into the cliff and overturned, killing three passengers and injuring eight others – including a four-year-old child.
Shortly after the crash, more than a hundred firefighters and other emergency services arrived on the scene.
A spokesman for local emergency services said: ‘Five helicopters are involved in an operation to rescue more victims.
“Three people have died so far and eight others are in intensive care at a nearby hospital.”
They added that the injured four-year-old was among the victims in intensive care.
The coach, which was on its way to its home depot in Barcelona after a day trip to Andorra, was the only vehicle involved in the accident.
The bus crash occurred when the bus was traveling in the dark near the Porté-Puymorens ski resort in the Pyrenees, near Andorra, after the driver reportedly lost control of the vehicle.
The bus plowed into the cliff and overturned, killing three passengers and injuring eight others – including a four-year-old child.
Shortly after the crash, more than a hundred firefighters and other emergency services arrived on the scene
The driver is believed to have lost control due to a problem with the brakes.
A witness identified only by Laurent, an off-duty firefighter, told Perpignan-based news outlet Indépendant: ‘We were rear-ending. He [the driver] had already been zigzagging for a mile.
“It looked like he was trying to rub the barrier, like he was trying to lose speed, before he hit the cliff.”
Jean-Philippe Augé, the mayor of Porté-Puymorens, said: “This is a tragedy and we must be careful about the human toll. It could rise overnight.
‘What I can tell you is that the road in question, the RN320, is not known to be particularly accident-prone.
“It is of course narrow and the bend in the descent is a bit sharp, but so far it has never been the cause of accidents of this severity.”
Mr Augé said a “psychological unit” had been set up at his town’s holiday center to help survivors and their families.
Everyone on board the bus had spent the day Christmas shopping at El Pas de la Casa, the Andorran ski resort, which is about 150 miles from Barcelona.
The Porté-Puymorens ski area in the Pyrenees, near Andorra, close to the place where the accident took place
It is understood that most of the people on board were mainly Spanish and Colombian nationals. No further details have yet been released about the deaths and injuries.
A spokesperson for the local prefecture said the accident occurred around 5 p.m. local time.
François Durovray, France’s transport minister, said on X: ‘My thoughts are with the families of the victims and all the injured.
‘I would like to commend the efforts of the emergency services, security services and local authorities in the face of this dramatic situation. I am monitoring the situation closely – safety on our roads remains an absolute priority.”