Pyrénées-Orientales: what we know about the exit of the road of a Spanish bus which left at least 2 dead and ten seriously injured

If it is provisional, the toll is already heavy. At nightfall, around 5 p.m., in the Porté-Puymorens station (Pyrénées-Orientales), a bus had an accident and left the track on which it was traveling. Two people have died and ten others are in an absolute emergency situation, according to an evolving report presented by the prefecture in a press release sent at 11:30 p.m. Sunday, December 1.

In total, 47 people were on board including the driver, explained sub-prefect Didier Carponcin during a press briefing, mentioning 32 minor injuries and emphasizing the character ” provisional ” of the balance sheet. The passengers on the bus are mainly of Spanish and Colombian nationality, and a four-year-old child is among those injured in relative emergency.

Nearly 200 firefighters mobilized

The injured were evacuated to hospital centers in Toulouse, Perpignan, Foix and Puigcerda, around twenty kilometers from the scene of the accident, on the Spanish side of the border. And among the injured was the driver, who was also hospitalized. The prefecture announced that a “psychological unit was activated to support the victims and their families”.

Moreover, nearly 200 firefighters were mobilized on site, coming from the Pyrénées-Orientales, as well as the neighboring departments of Ariège and Aude. They also received reinforcement from Catalan and Andorran firefighters, who came to support in this border area. To deliver first aid to this area made difficult to access by the winding roads, five civil security and gendarmerie helicopters were mobilized, the prefecture underlined.

The coach appears to have crashed into the cliff

What are the circumstances of the accident? The coach was traveling on the RN 320, a mountainous road between the Pyrénées-Orientales, Ariège, Andorra and Spain. In images sent by the authorities, he appears to have crossed the road and crashed into the cliff on the driver's side. One entire side of the vehicle was torn off by friction with the rock wall.

“Whether it was a human error, whether it was linked to technical or brake problems that the bus encountered, I cannot say at the moment”added the sub-prefect, while the accident area was cordoned off for the purposes of the investigation. Of the “testimonies” report the « zigzags » what the bus was doing before being in an accident, described the sub-prefect.

In addition, at the microphone of BFM TV, the mayor of Porté-Puymorens, Jean-Philippe Augé, specified that the passengers of the coach had left Barcelona on Sunday morning, for an excursion to Pas de la Casa, a town in Andorra renowned for its duty-free stores. The accident occurred while the coach was returning to Barcelona, ​​he said.

What is certain is that the weather conditions were not unfavorable at the time of the accident, “there was no snow or ice”assured Agence France-Presse Jeanine Ribo, deputy mayor in the neighboring town of Porta. “It’s a very narrow place, where the cliff juts out onto the road”she added. Perpignan prosecutor Jean-David Cavaillé said an investigation had been opened to determine the causes of the accident.

More information to come.