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12 Portuguese killed in bus crash in central France 12 Portuguese die in head-on crash in central France
(about 2 hours later)
PARIS — French authorities say 12 Portuguese travelers have been killed in a bus crash in central France. PARIS — A minibus carrying Portuguese nationals resident in Switzerland back home for the Easter vacation crashed head-on with a truck in central France, killing all 12 passengers including a 7-year-old girl, authorities said Friday.
The interior and transport ministries said the crash occurred early Friday on a national road in the Allier region and near the small town of Montbeugny, which is just over 300 kilometers (185 miles) from Paris. French interior and transport ministries said the crash occurred on a National Route highway near the small town of Montbeugny, just over 300 kilometers (about 185 miles) south of Paris.
In a statement, the Interior Ministry said bodies were being gathered in the local meeting hall. The Allier prefecture, the regional state authority, said the minibus swerved for unclear reasons and hit a truck traveling in the opposite direction just before midnight Thursday. The driver of the minibus was injured but survived, while all the passengers died. The two occupants of the truck, both Italian, were slightly injured, the prefecture said.
Gendarmes were investigating the circumstances that led to the accident. An Interior Ministry statement said bodies were placed in the local meeting hall. A unit of doctors and psychologists was set up to receive families of the victims, the prefecture said.
The Portuguese consulate in Paris told journalists 11 of the dead had been identified and that they were between seven and 63 years of age and that all were resident in Switzerland. Portugal’s Ministry for Communities Overseas said the youngest to die was a 7-year-old girl, the oldest 63, and that the passengers were all resident in Fribourg in western Switzerland and had been traveling home to celebrate Easter with family and friends when the accident happened.
An impromptu chapel of rest has been set up in the meeting hall in France until authorities released the bodies for burial, the Portuguese ministry said.
Gendarmes are investigating the circumstances that led to the accident.
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Elaine Ganley in Paris and Harold Heckle in Madrid contributed to this report.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.