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More than 40 pensioners killed in French bus crash | |
(35 minutes later) | |
More than 40 pensioners on an excursion have been killed after their bus crashed with a truck on a country road in south-western France. | |
The collision happened near Puisseguin in the Gironde wine region, east of Bordeaux, not long after the bus had set off from a nearby town. | |
French President Francois Hollande tweeted the government "is fully mobilised on this terrible tragedy". | |
This is the worst French road disaster since one in 1982 when 52 people died. | |
According to French media, the crash happened at around 07:30 local time (05:30 GMT) on a single carriageway road just outside the village of Puisseguin. | |
The force of the impact caused both vehicles to ignite. | |
At least 41 passengers on the bus and the driver of the lorry died in the blaze. Only eight people managed to escape, five of whom are injured. | |
A large number of those on board the bus were reported to have been members of an elderly people's association in the nearby town of Petit-Palais-et-Cornemps. | |
The cause of the crash is not yet clear. One local resident told TV channel iTele the scene of the crash was a notorious danger spot. | |
Prime Minister Manuel Valls, along with the interior and transport ministers are expected to go to the scene. | |
Are you in the region? If you have any information to share with the BBC, you can email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk. | Are you in the region? If you have any information to share with the BBC, you can email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk. |
Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us in the following ways: | Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us in the following ways: |
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