BUS ACCIDENT: One dead and 17 injured in a bus accident between Barcelona and Bordeaux

BUS ACCIDENT: One dead and 17 injured in a bus accident between Barcelona and Bordeaux

The vehicle had 30 people on board, the causes of the accident are still under investigation.

The accident occurred on Sunday afternoon and has resulted in the death of a 21-year-old Frenchwoman. 17 other passengers were injured, one of which, a 22-year-old French passenger is in a critical condition.

The bus was en route from Barcelona to Bordeaux when the incident occurred on a motorway in the south of France.

At the moment the nationality of the rest of the injured passengers is unknown, as is if Spanish citizens were travelling on the bus.

At around 13 hours on Sunday afternoon, the bus, fell down an embankment adjacent to the motorway. The causes of the accident are yet to be determined. It has been reported by local authorities that the bus was circulating in the direction of Narbonne-Toulouse with 30 people on board.

Le car Flixbus qui s'est couché dans le fossé dans l'#Aude reliait #Barcelone à #Bordeaux. Bilan: un mort, un blessé en urgence absolue et 16 personnes en urgence relative.
►https://t.co/m77JIkxqT8 pic.twitter.com/wNIrik2x3t

— France 3 Occitanie (@F3OccitanieLR) October 6, 2019

The 50-year-old driver has been arrested. Alcohol and drug tests were negative and further toxicological tests are being carried out. According to the prosecutor the driver ‘could have fallen asleep’ but further investigations are taking place.

According to French authorities, more than 10 vehicles and 60 firefighters, two helicopters with medical equipment and 10 National Gendarmes were displaced to the scene of the accident.

Flixbus has announced that it would send a replacement bus as soon as the authorities permitted to ensure the continuity of travel of the uninjured passengers.