13 dead in Spanish university bus crash
A BUS carrying university students back from Spain’s largest fireworks festival has crashed on a main highway in north-eastern Spain, killing 13 passengers and injuring 30 others.
Initially, regional government spokesman Jordi Jane said 14 had died in the crash but Interior Minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz later confirmed the death toll was 13.
He said 28 passengers received medical treatment in local hospitals and others received first aid at the crash site.
The bus, which was carrying 57 passengers, appeared to have hit the right-hand side barriers of the AP7 highway before cartwheeling across the road and slamming into the central fence, landing on its side, said Mr Jane, spokesman for Spain’s north-eastern Catalonia province.
The bus also crashed into an oncoming car on the opposite side of the highway.
The bus driver was being held at a police station in the city of Tortosa, Mr Jane said. Road conditions were good at the time of the crash and investigators were looking into the cause of the accident, he said.
Mr Fernandez Diaz said the driver passed alcohol and drug tests he was given.
Mr Jane said emergency rescue workers were working to clear the wreckage that had closed the major highway linking Spain with France in both directions along the Mediterranean coast.
The crash took place near Freginals, halfway between Valencia and Barcelona.