Two killed after bus carrying schoolchildren crashes in France

One minor and one young adult were killed, while 16 people were injured, three of which sustained serious injuries.

Police and rescue workers at the scene of the bus crash in Lent, France. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)

An intercity bus whose passengers included children on their way to school has crashed in eastern France, killing one minor and one young adult, authorities said.

The Prefecture in the Ain region said one minor and one young adult were killed, while 16 people were injured, including three seriously.

Transport minister Philippe Tabarot said on X that he was heading to the site following “a serious bus accident” near the small town of Lent, in a rural area north-east of Lyon.

“An accident involving an intercity bus occurred near Lent, France, with multiple casualties reported,” the prefecture said in a statement.

Emergency services and law enforcement officers have been deployed to the scene, it said.

News broadcaster BFM TV reported that the passengers included children traveling to middle and high schools in the area. 

A photo from the scene showed the bus had veered off the road and landed in a ditch.

Education minister Édouard Geffray told reporters: “It is always a difficult moment when our students, our children, are victims of an accident like this. My thoughts, and those of the government and the entire education community, are with the families.”

- Press Association