Over 40 Pensioners Died In French Bus Crash

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 in the Gironde wine region, east of Bordeaux, not long after the bus had set off from a nearby town.
The French President, Francois Hollande, said he had been “plunged into sadness by the tragedy”.
“This is the worst French road disaster since 1982, when 52 people died”, he said.
At least 41 passengers on the bus and the driver of the lorry died in the blaze. The French Government said 42 people had died and nine people were injured, four seriously.
A large number of those on board were reported to have been members of an elderly people’s association in the nearby town of Petit-Palais-et-Cornemps.
More than 60 firefighters attended the scene. The wounded were airlifted to hospital.
The cause of the crash is not yet clear. One local resident told Sud Ouest newspaper the scene of the crash was a notorious danger spot.
Mr Hollande, who is on a visit to Athens, promised a full investigation.
Prime Minister, Manuel Valls, along with the Interior and Transport Ministers are expected to go to the scene.
Marie Fulbert, a council official from the nearby town of Libourne, said they were still waiting for news of who was on the bus and said they had taken “a lot of calls from friends and family”.