Belgian authorities probe fatal bus crash

Authorities investigating the cause of a bus accident that killed 11 people were looking for clues today from a post mortem on the driver amid signs he may have fallen asleep or become ill at the wheel.

The German tour bus, en route to Paris, scraped along a concrete road divider at the Belgian-French border and burst into flames early yesterday. The driver and 10 passengers trapped in the blazing bus died, while 37 managed to escape.

Five people remained hospitalised today, including the relief driver. Authorities were awaiting autopsy results on the driver to see if there was any medical condition which might explain why he skidded off the road.

The provincial governor, Claude Tromont, told Belgian media that a truck driver who was behind the bus reported it had been zig-zagging on the road, as if the driver were falling asleep. No other vehicle was involved in the crash, according to Mons prosecutor Claude Michaux.

The tour operator, Rainbow Tours of Hamburg, Germany, said there did not appear to be any technical problems with the bus, which was only 18 months old. German Transport Minister Manfred Stolpe, who visited the crash site, also suggested human error was to blame.

Along with the bus, the victims’ bodies and belongings were also badly burned, making identification difficult. Police said names or nationalities would not be released until after families had been contacted.

Authorities said passengers were from Germany and countries across eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, as well as one American.

Most of the survivors returned to Germany by car or minibus yesterday night.