Four children are dead and more are injured after a school bus was cut in half when it was hit by a train travelling 50mph.
Rescuers arrived to a horrific scene in the small town of Millas, France, as victims were found on the ground and inside the destroyed bus.
The horror crash occurred at a level crossing between Perpignan and Prades, in the Pyrénées-Orientales region of southern France.
The bus – carrying children from Collège Christian Bourquin – was reportedly on the single track while the safety barriers were down.
Four children were killed and another 20 people were injured, 11 of them seriously, said French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe.
Most of the injured were schoolchildren aged 13-17, but also included the bus driver and three people on the train.
Barbara, a witness on board the regional TER train, told L’Independant the impact was “very violent” and it felt like the train would derail.
The older sister of one of the crash survivors told how the girl was in shock after her friends were killed.
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She said: “It is difficult for her to speak. We are waiting for the counsellors. She just said that the bus was cut in half in the middle and that it was past because the barriers were not lowered.
“She saw her friends under white sheets, bags of course were scattered everywhere.”
But the national rail authority has said that the barriers were lowered and worked as expected.
The bus would have entered the crossing while the barriers were down, France Bleu radio reported.
Robert Olive, the mayor of nearby Saint-Féliu-d’Amont, told the radio network after visiting the scene: “I am still upset by what I saw. It is very serious.”
Local officials activated their emergency plan and set up a crisis centre near the scene after the mass casualty incident happened at about 4pm local time on Thursday.
The large emergency response included four helicopters, almost 100 firefighters, dozens of police officers and emergency medics. A medical post was set up to assess the victims before they were taken to area hospitals.
Parents of the children were gathered at the school as they waited for updates. Counselling was being offered and officials had also set up an emergency phone number that they could call.
Perpignan Mayor Jean-Marc Pujol, who was with the children’s families at the college’s gymnasium, said: “The scene is one of disaster. The families are devastated. You can imagine the anguish, not to mention despair.
“We feel totally helpless.”
SNCF said the train was travelling at a normal speed of 50mph (80km/h) and the crossing’s two illuminated barriers were down at the time.
It also said that there were 25 passengers and crew on board the train.
Carole Delga, president of the Occitanie region, told Franceinfo that it appears the barriers were functioning properly.
She added: “It’s a crossing that has good visibility, it’s automatic and bright, and it looks like it’s well maintained.”
A local resident told Europe 1 of the crossing on a two-lane rural road: “It’s a straight line, completely clear. The crossing was perfectly indicated. [The crash] seems a little bit incomprehensible.”
Residents had complained about the crossing after several previous accidents, La Provence reported, but SNCF said it was not on their list of “dangerous” crossings.
The crash was likely to send shockwaves through the region, as the town of Millas, just north of the border with Spain, is home to just 3,500 people. The college has about 460 pupils.
Jean Valéry Letterman, the National Gendarmerie’s deputy commander for Occitanie, told reporters in Millas: “There is a lot of uncertainty at this stage of the investigation.
“Relief work is being done by the fire brigade, the identification of the victims is being done by the gendarmes as well as the investigation into the crash.”
Toutes mes pensées pour les victimes de ce terrible accident d’un bus scolaire et pour leurs familles. La mobilisation de l’État est totale pour leur porter secours.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) December 14, 2017
In the aftermath, French President Emmanuel Macron said his thoughts were with the victims of the “terrible” crash, and assured their families that the government would do everything it could to help them.
He wrote on Twitter: “All my thoughts for the victims of this terrible crash of a school bus and for their families.”
French Transport Minister Élisabeth Borne offered condolences to the victims and their families following the crash.
She wrote on Twitter that it was a “terrible” incident, adding: “Relief and state services are fully mobilised.”
She was planning to visit the site along with Prime Minister Édouard Philippe, Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer and Guillaume Pépy, president of SNCF, the French national rail authority.
Mr Blanquer wrote on Twitter: “It is with great sadness that we learn of Millas school bus accident.”
In a tweet, SNCF wrote: “Road accident on a crossing at Millas. SNCF offers a heartfelt message of support to the victims and their families.”
