Children killed as train collides with school bus
MILLAS: At least six children were killed and 20 people injured, seven seriously, on Thursday when a train crashed into a school bus at a level crossing in southern France.
The bus, which was carrying around 20 students from a local secondary school, was struck by the train in Millas about 18km west of the city of Perpignan, close to the Spanish border, in mid-afternoon.
“The bus was very badly hit,” the public prosecutor in Perpignan, Jean-Jacques Fagny, said.
The dead and critically injured were all travelling in the bus.
France Bleu regional radio reported that the train ploughed into the rear of the bus. Pictures posted on French media showed the bus had been severed in two.
Around 95 emergency workers, backed by four helicopters, were deployed as part of the rescue effort. The crash site was cordoned off to the media.
Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, who flew to Millas by helicopter, said the process of identifying the victims was “extremely difficult”.
Twenty four people were caught up in the accident, including 20 children aged from 13 to 17, said Philippe.
The prime minister confirmed four deaths and said 11 of the injured were in critical condition with another nine in serious conditions in hospitals in the region.
“The priority at this stage is to be able to give precise information to the families,” Philippe said.
Speaking to reporters, local prosecutor Jean-Jacques Fagni said the four dead children had yet to be identified while local governor Philippe Vignes described “a real war scene”.
The local L’Independant paper cited one of the rail passengers, named only as Barbara, as saying the impact “was very powerful and we thought the train was going to derail”.
The reason for the collision was unclear but an enquiry into “involuntary homicide” was swiftly opened.
A source close to the enquiry said witness questioning was underway and the drivers of the bus and train would be tested for alcohol and drugs.
Robert Olive, mayor of neighbouring St-Feliu-d’Amont, Robert Olive, described the scene as a “vision of horror”.
“The coach was really cut in two by the train as it passed,” he added.
The national railway operator SNCF said that “according to witnesses, the level crossing was working as normal” but that an investigation would be carried out to confirm the cause.
President Emmanuel Macron tweeted: “All my thoughts for the victims of this terrible accident involving a school bus, as well as their families. The state is fully mobilised to help them.”
Transport Minister Elisabeth Borne and SNCF head Guillaume Pepy were also made their way to the accident site.
“It’s a terrible event,” Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer said, expressing “profound sadness”.
The security department for the Pyrenees area, where the collision took place, said the accident involved a train travelling west from Perpignan to Villefranche de Conflent.