GER - Fiery bus crash in Bavaria kills at least 18, mostly seniors

More than two dozen people who were hurt escaped the bus before it became fully engulfed in fire, police said. By the time the blaze was put out, only the vehicle's charred, twisted frame remained.

<snip> http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-bavarian-bus-crash-20170703-story.html

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The bus rear-ended a truck sitting in a traffic jam. In the 2nd photo at link, you can see that the accident occurred on a curve.

2 people with life-threatening injuries were taken to hospital. The bus driver was among the dead. The article reports there were 2 bus drivers on board, so doesn't appear operator fatigue would be a factor. The truck driver wasn't injured.

Indy Anna said:

More than two dozen people who were hurt escaped the bus before it became fully engulfed in fire, police said. By the time the blaze was put out, only the vehicle's charred, twisted frame remained.

<snip> http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-bavarian-bus-crash-20170703-story.html

_______________________________________________________________________

The bus rear-ended a truck sitting in a traffic jam. In the 2nd photo at link, you can see that the accident occurred on a curve.

2 people with life-threatening injuries were taken to hospital. The bus driver was among the dead. The article reports there were 2 bus drivers on board, so doesn't appear operator fatigue would be a factor. The truck driver wasn't injured.

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What a horrendous and horrific way to die. May they Rest In Peace.

gregjrichards said:

What a horrendous and horrific way to die. May they Rest In Peace.

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OMG, looking at the photos of the truck and the bus - both were burned to nothing more than steel frames. It looks like (IMO) the accident occurred when the bus rounded a curve where the truck was stopped in traffic and wasn't able to brake in time.

Apparently the truck was loaded with pillows and mattresses, which likely fueled the fire although the article said the "collision between the two vehicles was not described as a major crash."

The fire must have been so hot. :tears: A BBC article says a safety expert thinks that the fuel line that ran under the bus may have ruptured, prompting the fire to spread fast. According to firefighters they responded within 10 minutes after the crash but by then the fire was too intense to approach the bus to rescue people.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-40479021

Between the Ghostship fire, the Grenfell Tower fire and now this deadly bus crash I feel like locking myself in my bedroom.

I notice many elderly in these bus disasters that kill many.

they take bus trips a lot

HMSHood said:

I notice many elderly in these bus disasters that kill many.

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LadyL said:

they take bus trips a lot

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Yes and tragically because of mobility issues it is difficult for them to leave a bus quickly in an emergency.

HMSHood said:

I notice many elderly in these bus disasters that kill many.

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Yes, the elderly take bus trips a lot as was pointed out above, and also if something like this "rear-end" accident does happen - - the elderly cannot move as quickly as a panicking teen or twenties can move. So they cannot evacuate the bus quickly enough.

We posted at the same time GregRichards, we both agree on the reason for the high mortality.
So tragic.