© 2024 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY · WNPR
WPKT · WRLI-FM · WEDW-FM · Public Files Contact
ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

42 People Die After Bus Crashes In Southwest France

Emergency personnel escort people away from the site of a collision in Puisseguin in southwestern France. At least 40 people, most of them elderly, were killed when a bus collided with a truck  and caught fire in southwest France.
Jean-Pierre Muller
/
AFP/Getty Images
Emergency personnel escort people away from the site of a collision in Puisseguin in southwestern France. At least 40 people, most of them elderly, were killed when a bus collided with a truck and caught fire in southwest France.

In what's being called one of the deadliest crashes in France's history, a bus carrying 50 people collided with a truck near Bordeaux, killing 42 people. Most of the bus's passengers were senior citizens; it had recently departed from a nearby village for a sightseeing trip.

The accident happened on a narrow and curvy country road outside the village of Puisseguin. After what's being reported as a head-on collision, both vehicles burst into flames.

Along with the bus driver, the vehicle had 49 passengers. It left Petit-Palais-et-Cornemps, a village of about 800 that's northeast of Bordeaux, earlier Friday.

Citing Puisseguin's Mayor Xavier Sublett, France 24 reports that the driver of the truck lost control of his vehicle, and the bus couldn't avoid it. Sublett also said the driver managed to open the bus's doors, allowing some passengers to escape.

"Seventy firemen were deployed to the scene as part of rescue operations," reporter Jake Cigainero says from Paris. "A local official said the collision site is known to be dangerous, and that several accidents have already occurred there."

Jake adds, "The crash is the deadliest in France since 1982, when a highway accident killed 53 people, mostly children."

Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve and Prime Minister Manuel Valls are now visiting the area; French President Francois Hollande sent his condolences from Greece, where he's currently visiting. He added that he will visit the crash site.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Bill Chappell is a writer and editor on the News Desk in the heart of NPR's newsroom in Washington, D.C.

Stand up for civility

This news story is funded in large part by Connecticut Public’s Members — listeners, viewers, and readers like you who value fact-based journalism and trustworthy information.

We hope their support inspires you to donate so that we can continue telling stories that inform, educate, and inspire you and your neighbors. As a community-supported public media service, Connecticut Public has relied on donor support for more than 50 years.

Your donation today will allow us to continue this work on your behalf. Give today at any amount and join the 50,000 members who are building a better—and more civil—Connecticut to live, work, and play.

Related Content