A Spanish coach hit a cliff around 5 p.m. on Sunday 1is December, on the RN 320 near the town of Porté-Puymorens, towards the Col du Puymorens, near Andorra (Pyrénées-Orientales), according to the newspaper The Independent . The human toll of this road accident is heavy. At 10 p.m., the prefecture still reported two deaths and seven injuries in absolute emergency, and 26 injuries in relative emergency.
The prefecture's chief of staff, Ludovic Julia, for his part told franceinfo that the toll was at least three dead and eight injured “in an absolute emergency”.
The bus had 46 passengers on board as well as the driver. According to initial information, the vehicle hit the rock wall on the side of this mountainous road between the Pyrénées-Orientales, Ariège, Andorra and Spain. Porté-Puymorens is known for its ski resort, located a two-hour drive from Toulouse and Perpignan.
Helicopters sent to the scene
A major rescue system was deployed on site, with around a hundred French firefighters but also others from Andorra and Catalonia. Relief delivery times are long. Three civil security helicopters as well as two others from the gendarmerie were mobilized to rescue the victims. The injured were evacuated to the nearest hospitals. “A psychological support unit has been activated to support the victims and their families,” specifies the prefecture.
“My thoughts are with the families of the victims and all those injured. I would like to salute the commitment of the emergency and security services and local authorities in the face of this dramatic situation,” wrote about X François Durovray, the Minister of Transport.
An investigation was opened to determine the causes and circumstances of the accident. The RN 320 is closed to traffic during the intervention.
