{"id":5110,"date":"2017-12-14T20:20:33","date_gmt":"2017-12-15T04:20:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=5110"},"modified":"2017-12-14T20:20:33","modified_gmt":"2017-12-15T04:20:33","slug":"france-train-crashed-with-school-bus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=5110","title":{"rendered":"France Train Crashed with School Bus"},"content":{"rendered":"

Four children have been killed in a crash between a train and a school bus in southern\u00a0France<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The French interior ministry confirmed four teenage children had died. Local media reported that seven other people had been seriously hurt, with a further 12 lightly injured.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Pyrenees<\/a>-Orientales authority tweeted that the collision occurred on Thursday afternoon on a railway crossing at the small town of Millas, about nine miles west of Perpignan and close to the border with Spain.<\/p>\n

The country\u2019s prime minister\u00a0Edouard Philippe<\/a>and transport minister Elizabeth Borne said they would travel immediately to the crash site.<\/p>\n

\u201cEmergency and public services are fully mobilised,\u201d Ms Borne said on Twitter, describing the crash as a \u201cterrible accident\u201d.<\/p>\n

Speaking later from the area Mr Philippe said the \u201ccircumstances of this terrible drama are still undetermined\u201d.<\/p>\n

He confirmed that two inquiries were underway into the accident that left four children dead and 20 others injured \u2014 including 11 seriously.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

France\u2019s SNCF national rail authority said witnesses described the crossing gates as functioning properly. Regional President Carole Delga told broadcaster France-Info that \u201cit appears that there was no mechanical problem at this crossing.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, the head of the regional administration, Philippe Vignes, told reporters that investigators would examine whether everything worked properly and also look into reports that batteries in the automatic gate system had recently been stolen.<\/p>\n

He said seven of the injured and some of the dead had not been identified by late Thursday.<\/p>\n

Some 70 firefighters, 10 emergency ambulances and four helicopters responded to the crash.<\/p>\n

The school bus was transporting children home from the Christian Bourquin school in the village of Millas. It was carrying around 20 children aged between 11 and 15, the local authority said.<\/p>\n

Psychological help was being offered at a local sports hall from Friday morning.<\/p>\n

President\u00a0Emmanuel Macron<\/a>\u00a0said in a tweet: \u201cAll my thoughts for the victims of this terrible accident involving a school bus, as well as their families. The state is fully mobilised to help them.\u201d<\/p>\n

An image posted by France Bleu showed the white bus had been smashed in half in the crash.<\/p>\n

The vehicle was carrying children aged between 13 and 17.<\/p>\n

An SNCF spokeswoman said the train was running at about 50mph at the time of the accident, about 4pm, and that 25 people were on board. Three of them were slightly injured.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a classic crossing, well equipped and lit. Several witnesses confirmed that the barrier had come down so it worked,\u201d the spokeswoman said, adding that an investigation would have to clarify what had happened.<\/p>\n

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