AT LEAST FIVE people died and several were badly injured when a bus carrying Russian youngsters on their way to Paris crashed in northern Belgium, reports and officials said today.
The Polish-registered bus had 42 passengers on board, aged between 15 and 22, when it swerved off the E34 highway approaching the port city of Antwerp at around 5.30am Irish time.
Three adolescents died as well as a chaperone and the driver, who some reports said was Polish.
Early reports said the passengers included Ukrainians but a statement by the nearby Ranst commune said they were Russians from the Volgograd region who were on their way to Paris.
It said five passengers died in the crash, with another five very seriously injured, including two who were fighting for their lives.
Evacuated
They and others hurt were evacuated to different hospitals in the region, it added.
It did not say whether the passengers were students or what the purpose of their journey was.
Contacted by AFP, neither the Russian nor Ukrainian embassies in Brussels were able to provide any immediate information.
The Ranst commune said it would issue another statement in the early afternoon.
Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo said his “thoughts go to the victims… The Belgian emergency services and authorities (are doing) everything to help.”
Pictures showed the badly damaged bus lying on its side below a bridge carrying the highway and then being righted by a crane and put back on the road.
Reports said no other vehicle was involved and the bus apparently swerved off the road and through a guard rail.
The immediate cause of the crash was unknown, with no signs the bus had braked sharply, and an official investigation has been launched.
Local officials said every assistance would be offered to the families of the victims.
The accident stirs painful memories of an accident a year ago when a bus carrying Belgian school children crashed in Switzerland, killing 22 and six adults accompanying them.
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