Posted on 07/22/2007 6:11:07 AM PDT by lizol
Bus crash kills at least 26 Polish nationals in France
Jul 22, 2007, 12:27 GMT
Paris - At least 26 people died and 20 were gravely injured Sunday when a bus carrying Polish pilgrims left the road and crashed into a river near the south-eastern French city of Grenoble, a police spokesman told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.
According to witnesses, the driver appeared to be travelling too fast on a steep 7-kilometre descent and the brakes failed to slow the vehicle's speed.
The bus then left the road in a curve at the bottom of the hill, struck a bridge parapet, burst into flames and tumbled some 30 metres into the Romanche River.
'There were bodies everywhere. It was like the end of the world. I've never seen anything like it,' one witness told France-Info radio.
This particular descent on the motorway between Grenoble and Gap has long been considered dangerous and is off-limits for buses without special authorisation, a local official told France-Info.
According to the official, the Polish bus had not received authorization to travel on the motorway. The ban was imposed after a bus carrying Belgian tourists crashed in the same spot in 1973, killing 43 people.
The bus was carrying 51 people, two drivers and 49 Polish nationals who were returning from a pilgrimage to the Sanctuary of Notre Dame de la Salette, which is located about 50 kilometres south of Grenoble.
Most of the passengers came from the city of Cracow and the surrounding area.
Beyond words....Our prayers for them.
Oh, what a horrible accident! Prayers being said for those who passed away and their families — also praying that those who were ‘gravely injured’ will survive and recover. Prayers also for the witnesses and first responders as I can’t imagine what it would be like to respond to a situation like this... it must be horrific.
I join in urgent prayer for all the loved ones!
Was the bus made out of tinfoil?
What a tragedy :(
Oh my prayers for all of them. These photos are horrible to look at.
Carolyn
The stretch of twisty and steep road is very popular with sports car drivers who meet up there from all over Europe to try it. What the hell was a bus doing on it?
Getting ready to crash....
I'd guess that the bus's brakes had already failed by the time they got to the bottom of the hill. They shoulda been inching downhill in first gear.
The bus driver was 22 years old. Probably a greenhorn with lack of experience.
Well, he actually WAS 22 years old +
OMG! Prayers for all involved.
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