Fiery bus-truck crash claims 43 lives

PUISSEGUIN, France — A bus carrying retirees collided with a truck Friday in southwest France’s wine region, igniting an inferno that authorities said killed 43 people and badly injured four others. It was France’s deadliest road accident in more than 30 years.

Images on French television showed the carcass of the bus — a collapsing, charred frame engulfed by smoke near the village of Puisseguin, 50 kilometres east of Bordeaux.

Aerial views showed the mangled remains of both vehicles on a narrow, curving road surrounded by trees.

Eight people, including the driver, escaped after the driver quickly opened the bus door, but others were trapped as flames quickly consumed the vehicles, Puisseguin Mayor Xavier Sublett said on i-Tele television.

Among those killed was the truck driver’s three- year- old son, who was travelling with his father and whose small body was discovered in the truck’s wreckage. French media said the truck driver was also killed.

The mayor told RTL radio the truck driver lost control of the vehicle. The bus driver “tried to avoid it, but the truck came and hit it,” Sublett said.

Dr. Philippe Flipot of Puisseguin said he spoke to the bus driver afterward.

“He found himself facing a jack-knifed truck, he couldn’t avoid it. He managed to open the doors and some passengers could get off the bus. Risking his life, because flames were licking him, he managed to evacuate some people,” Flipot said.

Police said the death toll was unusually high because both vehicles caught fire immediately.

The accident was devastating for the surrounding communities. The bus was carrying members of a senior citizens’ club from the town of Petit-Palais-et-Cornemps on a daylong ham-tasting trip to Arzacq-Arraziguet, 200 kilometres away. The bus had travelled just seven kilometres when the collision occurred.