Bus whose passengers included school kids crashes in France, leaving 2 dead and 16 injured

PARIS -- An intercity bus whose passengers included kids on their way to school crashed on Friday morning in eastern France, killing one minor and one young adult, French authorities said.

The Prefecture in the Ain region said one minor and one young adult were killed, while 16 people were injured, including three seriously.

Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot said on X that he was heading to the site following “a serious bus accident” near the small town of Lent, in a rural area north-east of Lyon.

“An accident involving an intercity bus occurred near Lent, France, with multiple casualties reported,” the prefecture said in a statement. Emergency services and law enforcement officers have been deployed to the scene, it said.

News broadcaster BFM TV reported that the passengers included children traveling to middle and high schools in the area. A photo from the scene showed the bus had veered off the road and landed in a ditch.

“It is always a difficult moment when our students, our children, are victims of an accident like this. My thoughts, and those of the government and the entire education community, are with the families,” Education Minister Édouard Geffray told reporters on the sidelines of a visit to a high school in the Paris region.