Children dead as school bus collides with train in France

Last updated: 14 December 2017, 6:39 pm

A train has collided with a school bus in southern France, leaving at least four dead.

Rescuers have been going through the wreckage to free victims, and air ambulances have transferred those with the worst injuries to hospital. Around 70 emergency workers were deployed to the scene.

The accident happened near Perpignan, close to the border with Spain, between Millas and Saint-Feliu-d'Amont.

French President Emmanuel Macron said: "All 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."

French Transport Minister Elisabeth Borne described the crash as a "terrible accident" and said on Twitter that she was heading immediately to the scene, more than 530 miles (850km)  from Paris.

Reuters news agency quotes a local official who said that "all emergency services have been mobilised and a crisis co-ordination unit set up."

Toutes mes pensées pour les victimes de ce terrible accident d’un bus scolaire et pour leurs familles. La mobilisation de l’État est totale pour leur porter secours.

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) December 14, 2017

A witness who was on the train, named as Barbara, said "it was a very violent crash - it seemed as if the train would derail".

Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer wrote on Twitter: "It is with great sadness that we learn of Millas school bus accident."

Travel by rail has been badly disrupted by the accident.