France, school bus off the road in Ain: at least 2 dead, 16 injured

A bus went off the road in Lent, in the French department of Ain (in the east of the country), and ended up in a ditch, where it hit a tree.

The Bourg-en-Bresse prosecutor's office has announced that at least two people have died: a minor and a young adult. There are 16 injured: three are serious, another 13 have suffered light damage. There were 43 people in total on the bus, including 15 minors.

The same prosecutor's office added in a statement that the bus driver, who was hospitalized, "has not yet been able to be questioned" and that "an investigation into vehicular homicide" has been opened.

The Ain prefecture has activated the departmental operations center to coordinate the intervention of rescuers and law enforcement.

The Minister of Transport, Philippe Tabarot, announced on X that he will go there. "It is always a hard test when our students, our children, are victims of an accident like this", declared the Minister of Education, Édouard Geffray, expressing the closeness of the government and the school community to the families.