Bus leaves road near Barcelona and plunges down slope, injuring 83 people

In brief

• A passenger bus fell about 20 metres down a slope after leaving a mountain road near Barcelona.
• 83 people were injured, seven of them seriously, and were taken to hospitals in Barcelona and Girona.
• Police are investigating whether the bus collided with another vehicle; the cause is not yet confirmed.

Crash on mountain road in Catalonia

A passenger bus left the BV-5114 road near Fogars de Montclús, a village in the hilly Montseny natural park in Barcelona province, northeast Spain. The vehicle went over the edge and fell roughly 20 metres down a slope (Spanien: Mehr als 80 Verletzte bei Busunfall nahe Barcelona – DER SPIEGEL) (Пасажирський автобус упав з 20-метрового схилу: понад 80 постраждалих – TSN) (Сорвался со склона. Недалеко от Барселоны автобус слетел с дороги, пострадали более 80 человек — видео – NV). The accident happened late on Sunday afternoon, 25 October (Поблизу Барселони автобус злетів з дороги: 83 постраждалих – Українська правда).

Injuries and rescue response

The Catalan emergency medical service SEM said 83 people were hurt: seven with serious injuries, 18 with moderate injuries and 58 with light injuries (Autobus v Katalánsku sjel ze silnice a zřítil se ze svahu: Nejméně 80 zraněných – Novinky.cz). The seriously injured were taken to hospitals in Barcelona and Girona. Firefighters said that 30 units were deployed, and that crews carried people up from the embankment by land and by helicopter. Emergency services sent 23 ambulances, two medical helicopters, three joint fire and medical teams and three psychological support teams to the scene.

Cause under investigation

The cause of the crash has not been established. Police are reconstructing how the bus left the road and are checking whether it collided with another vehicle, as the first emergency reports had described a crash between a car and a bus. Catalonia's health minister Olga Pané said rescue teams were searching the area to determine whether more people were trapped or missing.

Similar incident

Separately, a tourist bus crash in Turkey involving a truck killed 11 people and injured 27.