No children among those killed in French bus crash – source

Sources within the local authorities told this to an Ukrinform correspondent.

According to preliminary data, four passengers were killed in a bus accident that occurred this Friday on a highway in the Sarthe region.

According to the sources, most of the bus passengers were Ukrainian teenagers aged 14 to 17 from agricultural colleges in western Ukraine. They were returning from a visit to a lyceum in Ploermel, Brittany, as part of an exchange program with a private agricultural college.

The Ukrainian group had spent two days there and was en route to Paris in the morning to return home to Ukraine.

The injured were hospitalized in two cities in the region – Le Mans and Angers. Ukraine's Ambassador to France, Vadym Omelchenko, has already arrived at the scene of the tragic accident.

In total, three helicopters and 87 firefighters were mobilized. A departmental operations center was established under the direction of the Sarthe prefect to coordinate the emergency response.

Four people were killed and at least 30 were injured in the bus accident in France.

Photo: DENIS LAMBERT