Bus carrying Ukrainians caught in serious accident in France: 4 dead, 45 injured
Source: European Pravda with reference to BFMTV, a French news broadcast television
Details: The bus carrying adults and teenagers from Ukraine flipped into a ditch on the A81 motorway at 11:58, near the town of Degré, between the Sillé-le-Guillaume and Le Mans-Nor interchanges.
Early reports suggest that in addition to the four dead and 11 seriously injured, 34 people suffered minor injuries, BFMTV said.
The motorway was closed in both directions after the accident to facilitate evacuation and rescue operations.
A total of 87 firefighters from the SDIS (Departmental Fire and Rescue Service) and 49 fire engines arrived at the scene.
No further information is available at this time on the details of the accident, the number of vehicles involved or the identity of the people affected.
The prefect of the Sarthe department, Emmanuel Aubry, has taken charge of the rescue operations, and a departmental operational headquarters (COD) has been set up to coordinate the various services working at the scene. Aubry "calls for maximum vigilance in the area and not to interfere with the work of emergency services".
The Ukrainian Embassy in France reported that Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to France Vadym Omelchenko and embassy staff immediately went to the scene.
"We are in constant contact with the prefecture and local services to promptly assist those injured and clarify the circumstances," the embassy said in a Facebook post.
Background:
Four Ukrainian citizens were killed in a road accident in Austria in April.
In mid-February, a Kyiv-Chișinău bus got into an accident, leaving 16 people injured.
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