Posted on 04/17/2005 10:10:54 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
ORSIERES, Switzerland (AP) - A Swiss tour bus carrying 27 people to a cruise ship in Italy plunged into an Alps ravine Sunday, killing 12 people and injuring 15, police said. Rescuers descended to the wreck on ropes to try to help the injured.
Valais state police said some passengers were thrown from the bus when it went out of control and rolled down a steep slope. The vehicle came to rest in a stream about 800 feet below the road, police spokesman Renato Kalbermatten said.
At least a dozen ambulances stood by while mountain guides and climbers used ropes to lower themselves to the bus, police said. Some of the passengers were trapped inside the bus, according to authorities.
It had been snowing in the area, but by the time rescuers arrived at the scene the road was only wet, Kalbermatten said. There might have been snow on the road when the accident occurred, he said.
The bus was based in the Swiss capital, Bern, and was taking passengers to Savona in northwest Italy, where they were to board a cruise ship, said bus company manager Heinrich Marti.
There were 24 passengers, two experienced drivers and a hostess on board, Marti said. The bus left its base near Bern at 6 a.m. and picked up more passengers at stops along the way. The accident occurred before 10 a.m.
The Great St. Bernard pass, close to where the accident occured, is one of the main routes through the western Alps near the border between France and Italy.
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Damn,, 70 foot wave hits cruise liner and now this..
Condolences to the families and freinds of those lost.
That would have been really frightening.
I once took a bus trip to Innsbrook. That was the scariest trip I ever took. 60 MPH on winding roads, and huge drop offs. Never again.
I was on similar roads in the Peaks of Europe in spain, quite a ride.
The only way this should make news on FR would be if it was a bus full of lawyers with an empty seat.
Journalism 101: any bus mishap story must use the word "plunge." Never crash, careen, skid, wreck, fall, overturn... Nope, always "plunge."
This usage has become so ingrained that Bus Plunge is a web site.
When my time comes, I want to die in my sleep, like my grandfather -- not screaming in horror like his passengers.
70 foot wave? Where? When?
A Swiss tour bus lays on the bank of the Dranse river after an accident on the road to the Great St. Bernard pass between Orsieres and Liddes, western Switzerland, Sunday, April 17, 2005. According to police information the bus with 27 travellers on board went off the road and fell over a slope about 800 feet (243 meters) into a ravine. Police say twelve people died in the crash and 15 are injured. (AP Photo/Keystone, Fabrice Coffrini)
The 70 foot wave drenched some lower cabins, broke windows, etc....and scared a lot of folks!
Prayers for the poor people involved.
Took the bus ride up Pike's Peak when I was 12. The driver kept turning around to talk to my Dad. Jeeze.
That is one "BEATUP" Tour Bus!!!
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