More than 40 pensioners on a day trip have been killed after their bus collided with a truck and burst into flames in south-western France.
The scene of the crash
BBC reports that the collision happened near Puisseguin in the Gironde wine region, east of Bordeaux, shortly after the bus had set off from a neighbouring town.
Gilles Savary, lawmaker from the region, said the accident was the worst of crashes within recent the region in recent years.
While speaking on BFM television, Savary said, “a bus company from the town of Libourne was leading the group on a tourist trip. The bus collided with a truck near the village of Puisseguin on Friday, and authorities say at least 40 people were killed.”
Emergency service at the scene of the crash
French president, Francois Hollande, in a statement issued by his office, offered condolences to those affected.
Hollande said: “It is a great tragedy,” adding that the relatives of the victims could be assured of “the solidarity of the whole nation.”
An official for the national gendarme service who pleaded to speak under anonymity, said the crash occurred near the town of Puisseguin, stressing that the death toll may have been so unusually high because the bus caught fire.
Scores of emergency workers in the region have been mobilized to help.
Investigations into the crash is still on, however, authorities are yet to give clear details of how many people were on the bus and their identities.