Many of the victims of a bus crash on Sunday evening in the south of France in which two people were killed and dozens were injured are citizens of Colombia living in Spain, officials said on Monday.
The bus with 47 passengers was returning from Andorra and had departed from Hospitalet de Llobregat, outside Barcelona.
In a statement published on X (see below), Colombia’s foreign affairs ministry said 30 of the passengers were Colombian citizens living in Spain.
Colombia’s ambassador to France, Alfonso Prada, said the bus crashed in the French Pyrenees as it was returning to Barcelona after taking passengers on a shopping trip to the principality of Andorra.
‘We have identified that the passengers were people who live in Barcelona,’ Prada told Colombian radio station Blu. ‘They were going back home after doing some shopping in Andorra, to take advantage of (seasonal) sales.’
Initial reports indicate that the charter bus went off the road and crashed into an embankment near the ski resort of Porté-Puymorens. According to the reports, the bus was travelling on the N-320 mountain pass and was not using an alternative toll road.
Prada said that some relatives of the victims had contacted Colombia’s consulate in Barcelona for help.
According to the Catalan Emergency Medical Service (SEM), 32 people received medical attention: three in serious condition, five with moderate injuries and 24 with minor injuries.
The survivors are being treated in four hospitals in southern France, and one hospital in the city of Puigcerdà in the province of Girona (Catalonia).
More than 120 personnel were involved in the rescue effort, including from Catalonia and Andorra. Helicopters were also deployed.
Comunicado de misiones diplomáticas de Francia y España sobre el accidente de autobús ocurrido el domingo 1 de diciembre en la localidad de Porté-Puymorens, en los Pirineos Orientales de 🇫🇷, que ha dejado 31 heridos colombianos y 2 personas fallecidas. pic.twitter.com/hE0uuFR8Ge
— Alfonso Prada (@alfonsoprada) December 2, 2024
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