News Video

News Video
Find, view and share videos about news and entertainment from around the Web.
See Videos »

Blog Chatter

What are tags?
List

User-Submitted News

Top stories submitted and voted on from Propeller.

Most Popular Stories

Most Commented On

Most Recent Comments

NEWS ALERTS

Get the latest updates sent straight to your inbox.

Sign up to receive AOL News alerts by e-mail.

26 Die After Bus Plunges Off Mountain

By THIERRY BOINET,
AP
Posted: 2007-07-22 19:21:57
Filed Under: World News
GRENOBLE, France (July 22) - A bus carrying Polish Catholic pilgrims from a holy site in the French Alps plunged off a steep mountain road, crashed into a river bank and burst into flames Sunday, killing 26 people, authorities said.

Photo Gallery: A Deadly Fall

Laurent Cipriani, AP

The destroyed bus sits next to the La Romanche River in the French village of Vizille Sunday. Twenty-six passengers were killed after the bus plunged about 65 feet onto a river bank.

< Previous 1 of 6 Next >
Fourteen others were seriously injured in the wreck on a dangerous stretch of road where past bus accidents have killed dozens of people. Firefighters said the bus did not have the special permit required to use the 12 percent gradient road.

Polish President Lech Kaczynski and his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy traveled to Grenoble late Sunday to meet with the injured. Sarkozy said he was "shattered by the scale of the tragedy" and pledged to follow "very closely" the investigation into the causes of the accident.

Local residents said the bus missed a 90-degree bend in the steep mountain road near the village of Vizille as it returned from the shrine of Notre-Dame-de-la-Salette. The bus plowed through a barrier and plunged 65 feet onto the banks of the La Romanche River, catching fire on impact, firefighters said.

"When the bus was burning, there were injured people inside," said Philippe Baret, owner of the field where the bus landed. "I saw at least six of them who were stuck inside the bus and burned to death before my very eyes."

He said he helped pull injured people and bodies out of the bus before it was engulfed by flames. Victims were evacuated by helicopter to hospitals in the nearby city of Grenoble. Crews searched the river by helicopter and boat for a handful of missing passengers.

All that remained of the bus was its charred frame, with pieces strewn across the river bank.

Forty-three pilgrims died in a crash on the same road in 1973, while 29 people died in a crash in 1975. Buses are prohibited from using the five-mile road without a special permit.

"We can't manage to make this descent safe," Jean-Jacques Defaite, the mayor of the neighboring town of Laffrey, told LCI television.

Although it rained heavily Saturday night, it was warm and sunny Sunday and the road was dry.

Some said the bus' speed could have been a factor in the crash. Grenoble state prosecutor Serge Samuel told France Info that four motorcyclists following the bus said it was traveling about 44 miles per hour before it crashed. Experts would verify the bus' speed, he said.

Polish Foreign Ministry spokesman Robert Szaniawski said the bus carried 50 people, including 47 pilgrims, two drivers and a guide; French media reported it had between 50-60 people.

Local police said the bus driver behind the wheel was killed, while his colleague survived.

Most pilgrims were in their 50s to 70s, but among them were three children - a 12-year-old and two 13-year-olds - and several people in their 20s and 30s, said Marcin Szklarski, president of Orlando Travel, which organized the pilgrimage.

The travelers were mostly from the Szczecin area in northwestern Poland, near the German border. They had left July 10 for a two-week visit to famous sanctuaries in France, Spain and Portugal, Szklarski said.

The bus, a 2000 Scania, passed safety checks three weeks ago in Germany, Szklarski said.

Three priests were on board, said the Rev. Slawomir Zyga, a spokesman for the Roman Catholic Church in the Polish city of Szczecin. One called the church in Szczecin after the accident.

"He said he was shaken up and bloody, but alive," Zyga told TVN24. "We have no information on the other two priests."

During his visit to a Grenoble hospital treating some of the survivors, Sarkozy said he had "come to express to the Polish president the solidarity of all the French people in the face of this abominable catastrophe."

Sarkozy and Kaczynski, who flew in from Poland, also visited a Grenoble morgue to pay their respects to those killed in the accident, and Kaczynski also visited the crash site.

The Polish government was organizing a flight for the victims' families from Szczecin to France on Monday morning.

Nestled between Alpine peaks, the Sanctuary of Notre-Dame-de-la-Salette is 5,900 feet above sea level. The complex, built where two children claimed the Virgin Mary appeared to them in 1846, draws Catholic pilgrims from around the world.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2007-07-22 10:39:11
Bookmark

Recent Comments

Post Your Own  
1 - 10 of 1875
1875 comments

ouivalerie 01:37:36 PM Jul 25 2007

Report This!

You can't always ignore disrespectful. But online at least it's a chance. In the real world these people can get very violent to stay alive. They really should be rooted out for the creeps they are. We got the tech to figure out whose an ******* hope they do it. They could even grade online presence with the same thing ebay uses.

ouivalerie 01:37:35 PM Jul 25 2007

Report This!

You can't always ignore disrespectful. But online at least it's a chance. In the real world these people can get very violent to stay alive. They really should be rooted out for the creeps they are. We got the tech to figure out whose an ******* hope they do it. They could even grade online presence with the same thing ebay uses.

lhdny 11:49:00 AM Jul 24 2007

Report This!

Can I make a suggestion???
To all those who who let some of these disrespectful posts bother them, and then feel compelled to post back and tell them that they are horrible people... That's exactly what these guy's want you to do.
Just start IGNORING THESE POSTS. If these stupid kids stop getting replies and attention, they might get bored with wasting their time posting cruel comments when they see it's not getting them the attention that they want.

lhdny 11:49:00 AM Jul 24 2007

Report This!

Can I make a suggestion???
To all those who who let some of these disrespectful posts bother them, and then feel compelled to post back and tell them that they are horrible people... That's exactly what these guy's want you to do.
Just start IGNORING THESE POSTS. If these stupid kids stop getting replies and attention, they might get bored with wasting their time posting cruel comments when they see it's not getting them the attention that they want.

teachefay 08:47:39 AM Jul 24 2007

Report This!

TO ANYONE! WHOM HAS SAID ANYTHING WRONG ABOUT JESUS! I FEEL SORRY FOR YOU!! BECAUSE YOU ARE GOING TO GET WHAT YOU GOT COMING!! ALL I HAVE TO SAY!

theyocatmann 03:42:34 AM Jul 24 2007

Report This!

THANK YOU..nleone5276 FOR THE ENLIGHTENMENT, IT HAS BEEN ALONE TIME SINCE I HAVE SEEN THE INSIDE OF A CHURCH OR THE INSIDE OF BIBLE, THO I DO HAVE ONE HERE IN MY LIVINGROOM.
THAT WAS KIND OF YOU TO HELP ME WITH THIS "?".
BE BLESSED , and TAKE OF YOURSELF.

Juleroc1 07:02:12 PM Jul 23 2007

Report This!

God bless all those people that were lost in this tragic accident. It is truly sad that while many people are able to be sympathetic towards situations like this, there are still those few who have to make jokes, say horrible things and just be downright evil and mean-spirited.
Well, for those of us who DO believe in the Lord, we must also remember that there is a special place in Hell for people like gngy1953m.

bambi4318 05:48:07 PM Jul 23 2007

Report This!

connboi2007 - you have one of the best posts on this site; too bad so many people have to be so mean.

larsentans 05:39:31 PM Jul 23 2007

Report This!

THIS IS VERY SAD. MY SYMPATHY TO ALL INVOLVED AND THEIR FAMILIES.

bambi4318 05:26:00 PM Jul 23 2007

Report This!

The news article said the bus was traveling at 44 mph; sounds a little fast for such a dangerous road, wonder what the speed limit was? Anyone know?

1 - 10 of 1875
1875 comments

Add your own Comments

Clear
Add
* Want the latest Hot Seat polls delivered to your Vista desktop? Hot Seat Vista Gadget »

CNN.com

More Stories

Top Videos

News Bloggers

Mo Rocca