Three critically injured after bus accident outside tunnel in Catalonia

A dramatic bus accident at the mouth of a highway tunnel in Catalonia has left nine people injured, three of them critically, another with serious injuries, officials said on Tuesday.

Ten firefighting units, nine ambulances, and two medical helicopters were dispatched to the area.

The bus was carrying 52 textile workers, all employees of the Spanish retail giant Inditex, on their way to the company’s logistics base in Tordera.

The accident occurred at the entrance to the tunnel that connects Tordera and Santa Susanna, near Pineda de Mar, on the C-32 highway – about an hour north of Barcelona.

According to reports, the bus appears to have hit the sloped edge as it was entering the tunnel and it was vaulted upward until its front came to a rest at the top. That left it propped diagonally across the entrance to the tunnel. Police are investigating the cause.

Three people were hospitalised with critical injuries, another with serious injuries, and two others with less serious injuries, according to the Catalan Emergency Service (SEM). They have been taken to hospitals in Barcelona (Vall d’Hebron), Badalona’s Can Ruti, and Girona’s Doctor Trueta.

A further 33 people received medical attention at a nearby municipal pavilion.

Els bombers aconsegueixen alliberar el conductor de l’autobús accidentat a la C-32 entre Pineda de Mar i Tordera i estan fent maniobres amb autoescales per evacuar-lo https://t.co/KLwK4HoDld pic.twitter.com/u5ZhSneOpf
— 324.cat (@324cat) July 16, 2024

#bomberscat hem alliberat el conductor de l’autobús accidentat a la C-32 a Pineda de Mar i estem fent maniobres amb les autoescales per evacuar-lo del lloc.

S’ha habilitat el pavelló de Pineda de Mar per poder atendre a les persones afectades. pic.twitter.com/UM4GcUrwjt
— Bombers (@bomberscat) July 16, 2024