Bus accident in Ain: the two dead are a 7-year-old girl and an 18-year-old young man, announces the Minister of Transport

The vehicle "left the road and hit a tree in the ditch", according to the mayor of the town of Lent, where the accident occurred Friday morning.

The two passengers killed in the bus accident in Ain on Friday, November 6, are an 18-year-old and a 7-year-old girl, said the Minister of Transport, Philippe Tabarot, upon his arrival on site at midday. Initially, the prefecture had mentioned two minors killed, as a source close to the matter also told us. But the prosecution explains that the second victim is “barely an adult”. The accident also left three people seriously injured, in an absolute emergency, and 13 other passengers were slightly injured.

The bus “hit a tree”. According to Yves Cristin, mayor of the town of Lent, the bus “left the road and hit a tree in the ditch”. The least affected victims were grouped together in the town hall, he announced to France Télévisions. The vehicle was traveling on a line in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region between Lyon and Bourg-en-Bresse. In total, 49 people were on board according to the Minister of Transport, who specified that this line was frequented by many students, but that it was not a school bus.

The Minister of Transport on site. Philippe Tabarot announced that he would immediately go to Lent, to the scene of the accident. The Minister of National Education, Edouard Geffray, addressed his thoughts to the students who were in the vehicle, on the sidelines of a trip.

An important emergency device. “The prefect has activated the departmental operational center in order to coordinate the action of the various actors in crisis management, specified the State services. The emergency services and the police are mobilized on site. The mayors are also providing assistance to the relief operation.”

The first drug and alcohol tests carried out on the driver were negative, the prefect of Ain announced to franceinfo. Three passengers are still in absolute emergency, while two people, including a 7-year-old girl, died in this accident.

Note that a crisis number (09 70 80 90 40) has been set up by the prefecture.

“We do not have sufficient information to explain the cause of this accident,” explains Philippe Tabarot, who specifies that the injured driver has not yet been able to be questioned.

Philippe Tabarot confirms that the first alcohol and drug tests on the driver were negative, but was cautious in referring the matter to the prosecutor.

The Minister of Transport, Philippe Tabarot, speaks after the accident in Ain. He recalls the heavy toll, with two deaths (a young man of 18 and a girl of 7), as well as three injured in absolute emergency. “There are also around twenty injuries in relative emergency and major trauma,” he told the press.

“I apologize, collectively,” said the Minister of Transport, who spoke of a “failure” after the accident in Ain. He also confirmed that the bus, although it carried many students, was not operating as part of school transport. The vehicle was “in very good condition” and had passed “all checks positively”. He said that 49 people were on board, although the prosecution had given another figure (43 people).

The tragedy occurred around 7 a.m. in the Lent area (Ain), near Bourg-en-Bresse. At this stage, the precise circumstances of this exit from the road remain to be determined.

The Prime Minister sends his “thoughts” to the families of the victims of the bus accident in Ain.

Two people died this morning in the bus accident in Ain, including a minor, specifies the Bourg-en-Bresse public prosecutor's office in a new report. Initially, the prefecture had mentioned two minors killed, as a source close to the matter also told us. But the prosecution explains that the second victim is “barely an adult”.

Three people are in absolute emergency and 13 people were slightly injured. In total, 43 people were on board the bus, including fifteen minors, when the accident took place, adds the prosecution. A count which also seems to contradict the words of the Minister of Transport, who spoke of a “school bus”.

The prosecution decided to open a "flagrant investigation into counts of road homicide and aggravated road injuries", entrusted to the gendarmerie research section, according to the press release. “The driver, hospitalized, has not yet been able to be heard at this stage,” specifies the prosecution.

Around forty people were involved in the accident, again according to the prefecture. The bus was traveling on a regional intercity transport line between Lyon and Bourg-en-Bresse, and left the road in the Lent sector around 7:30 a.m. There are “102 firefighters with 58 engines and 50 gendarmes” on site, details the press release from the prefecture on site.