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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
Rebecca Speare-Cole

France bus crash: Brits among 33 injured after bus overturns on motorway from Paris to London

Emergency services are at work on the site of an accident after a bus from the Flixbus company overturned (Picture: AFP via Getty Images)

British nationals are among the 33 people injured after a bus overturned on a motorway in France while travelling from Paris to London.

Five people were seriously wounded and another 29 sustained light injuries when the bus flipped onto its side at around 11am on Sunday in the northern Somme region.

The FlixBus coach, operated by a regional partner for the German transport firm, crashed as it took an exit from the A1 motorway near the village of Ablaincourt-Pressoir.

Local reports said the FlixBus crashed on a wet highway and was carrying passengers from the US, Spain, Australia, Netherlands, Romania, Russia, Britain and France.

The bus overturned as it took an exit from the A1 motorway (AFP via Getty Images)

The bus was carrying one driver and 32 passengers, including 10 from Britain, local police said.

The injured were taken to Amiens Hospital and several other regional facilities. Local police and firefighters attended the scene.

Two 20-year-olds from Northern Ireland, Jamie Kerr and Gemma Given, were treated for head and hand injuries.

Mr Kerr's father John Kerr told the BBC the trip had been "a pretty traumatic end to a Halloween weekend".

He said the couple were offered a bus back to the UK but decided to make their own way home.

29 passengers were injured and four seriously wounded in the accident, near Berny-en-Santerre (AFP via Getty Images)

"I feel a bit more could have been done for them," he said.

"They'll learn a lot from all of this, but I'm expecting an emotional response when they get home and it all hits them."

A FlixBus spokesperson said: "FlixBus regrets to confirm that, according to the most-recent information available, a long-distance bus on its scheduled route from Paris to London from our local partner operating on behalf of FlixBus was involved in an accident.

"There were 32 passengers and one bus driver on board.

"Injured passengers were taken to local hospitals; those not requiring medical attention are being taken care of by local authorities.

"FlixBus is in close contact with the relevant authorities in order to determine the exact cause of the accident and to ensure all passengers receive appropriate support.

"An emergency phone number is available for the passengers and their relatives."

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) said they were aware of the incident.

An FCO spokesperson said: "We are in contact with the French authorities following a road traffic accident in France, and will do all we can to assist any British people who need our help."

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