Bus crash kills 18 in Germany

BERLIN — A bus carrying German senior citizens on holiday burst into flame Monday after it slammed into the back of a truck that had slowed for a traffic jam on a major highway in Bavaria, authorities said.

Eighteen people were killed. More than two dozen people who were hurt escaped the bus before it became engulfed in fire, police said. By the time the blaze was put out, only the vehicle’s charred, twisted frame remained.

The accident occurred about 7 a.m. near the Czech border, when there was no rain and visibility was good. Prosecutors and other investigators were looking into what type of cargo the truck was hauling, police said.

The bus’s driver was among the dead. The truck driver was not injured, police said. The rest of the fatalities were men and women between 66 and 81 years old, police said.