Two killed, 16 injured after bus crashes into tree in Eastern France
A young girl and an 18-year-old man have died after a bus crashed in eastern France, according to local authorities.
The bus was travelling from Lyon to Bourg-en-Bresse when it veered off the road and crashed at about 07:00 local time on Friday in Lent, a town approximately 55 kilometres from the Swiss border.
The Bourg-en-Bresse prosecutor’s office said 43 people, including 15 children, were on board. Three passengers are in critical condition, while at least 13 others sustained minor injuries.
French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his condolences to the victims, the injured and their families, saying the country stood with them. He also commended the emergency teams involved in the rescue operation.
Lent Mayor Yves Cristin told French media that the bus left the road and struck a tree in a roadside ditch.
Authorities have identified the two people who died, although reports have differed over the age of the girl.
The prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation into the crash on suspicion of road homicide and aggravated road traffic injuries.
The driver, who was injured in the incident, has been taken to hospital and is yet to be questioned by police. French Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot said preliminary tests found no traces of alcohol or drugs in the driver’s system.
Images published by French media showed a blue and white bus lying at an angle in a roadside ditch, with its front section badly damaged.
Mayor Cristin, speaking to BFM TV, said he arrived at the scene shortly after the crash and found passengers in shock. He added that part of the bus had been torn away, suggesting that those seated on that side may have suffered serious injuries.
On the weather conditions at the time, the mayor told Le Figaro that there was some fog and the road was wet, although conditions were not particularly difficult.
Fabrice Pannekoucke, head of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, said there was no clear explanation for the accident at the time.
Transport Minister Tabarot clarified that the bus was not dedicated exclusively to school transport, although several schoolchildren were among the passengers.
French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu described the incident as tragic and thanked firefighters, medical personnel and police officers who responded to the emergency.
Education Minister Édouard Geffray also expressed sadness over the incident, saying it was always difficult when children became victims of such accidents.
Emergency services remain involved in the response, with medical helicopters deployed to transport seriously injured passengers to a specialist hospital.
More than 100 firefighters and 50 gendarmes were sent to the scene.
The local town hall was also opened to provide shelter and assist with coordination between emergency responders and affected families.
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