17 feared dead in bus crash

UP TO 17 people were feared dead after a tour bus burst into flames following a collision with a trailer truck in southern Germany yesterday, police said.

There was “only a glimmer of hope” that 17 people missing after the collision would be found alive outside the coach, which was completely gutted,” police spokesman Juergen Stadter said.

Another police spokeswoman, Anne Hoefer, that “it is completely possible that some people did not make it out of the bus, it’s unclear where 17 of them are”.

The bus carrying 46 passengers and two drivers rammed into the trailer in a traffic jam on the motorway A9 close to the Bavarian town of Stammbach.

The crash shortly after 7am sent the bus up in flames.

About 31 injured people were pulled out of the bus, Hoefer said.

Images on television showed only a charred skeleton of the bus remaining. It was unclear what kind of tour group the bus was carrying.

The Bild newspaper said the coach was travelling from the eastern region of Lausitz and heading for Nuremberg.

The accident struck near the town Bayreuth, which draws thousands of classical music lovers every summer to its opera festival.

The region close to the Czech border is also dotted with spas and castles, and the A9 is a trunk motorway leading to many popular summer holiday spots.

An emergency team, including firefighters and rescue workers, were at the scene, while traffic on the motorway was halted in both directions.

Those hurt were being flown by rescue helicopters to hospitals, many with life-threatening injuries. — AFP