James 'Geordie' Chance was on a bus carrying 34 school children from an Essex school in the UK. The E-40 highway, a major thoroughfare that links Belgiumâs North Sea coast to the capital city of Brussels, was closed to traffic following the crash. The broadcaster said the bus belonged to a company from County Antrim in Northern Ireland. Belgium steps up cocaine trade fight with Port of Antwerp bans, prosecutor. Belgium bus crash: One person killed on bus carrying 34 British children that crashed on Belgian motorway Ian Johnston @montaukian , Loulla-Mae … The … On the spot and online: Belgian Red Cross support in the wake of Christmas market attack. Children among Swiss tunnel bus crash dead At least 28 people, including 22 children, killed as they were returning home to Belgium from skiing holiday. A bus is seen lying sideways after crashing in Middelkerke, Belgium, June 28, 2015. A bus driver from Northern Ireland has been killed in a coach crash in Belgium. [17] Tests revealed the driver was not intoxicated with alcohol, did not suffer a heart attack or any other sudden illness, and prosecutors stated he was not exceeding the 100 km/h (62 mph) speed limit at the time of the crash. The coach was one of three operated by the Aarschot-based Top Tours company and was transporting mostly Belgian school teachers and students from a skiing holiday in Val d'Anniviers back to their two schools in Belgium. [9] The front portion of the vehicle was severely damaged, initially preventing some survivors from escaping; the side and rear windows of the coach had to be smashed by emergency workers in order to gain access to the trapped passengers.[9]. A BUS carrying British and Irish tourists has crashed on a motorway in Belgium as it was making its way to London, leaving 21 passengers injured. The second driver was seriously injured. The bus veered off the motorway, killing one of the drivers and hospitalising three children and two teachers. De Lijn is responsible for the Flanders network, while TEC handles bus travel in Wallonia. AT LEAST five people died and several were injured when a bus carrying Ukrainian and Russian teenagers crashed in northern Belgium. By … It was Switzerland's second-worst road accident in history and the country's worst in a motorway tunnel. Red Cross assists victims of bus crash in Belgium. A bus carrying 39 Russian teenagers crashed while heading to Antwerp, Belgium killing five people and injuring 19. world; Teenagers among five dead in Belgian bus crash. It crashed at around 9.15 pm CET while travelling on the A9 motorway near Sierre, in the southern canton of Valais. In a statement, it said: "Richmond Coaches confirms that one of its drivers sadly lost his life in today's crash in Belgium. The vehicle apparently went out of control, struck a bridge pillar on the E40 highway, then shot off the road, Belgian highway authorities said. The other 24 pupils, all aged between 10 and 12, were injured, including three who were hospitalised with severe brain and chest injuries. Belgium bus crash. Find the perfect Belgium Mourns Children Killed In Swiss Bus Crash stock photos and editorial news pictures from Getty Images. Belgian families in mourning over Swiss bus crash - YouTube A coach carrying 34 schoolchildren from Brentwood School, as well as 6 adults and 2 drivers has crashed near the Belgium town of Middelkerke. [18] Experts have narrowed the cause of the crash to either driver fatigue or some sort of undetected medical issue. This accident was reminiscent of the 1988 Måbødalen bus accident in Norway, where a Swedish bus whose brakes had failed collided with the concrete arch at the exit of a long and very steep tunnel. âOne of the children subsequently had a head injury. Six of the 10 Dutch passengers were killed, as well as one schoolboy with dual Belgian-British nationality. Belgium's king and the Dutch crown prince have joined thousands of mourners in an emotional homage to some of the victims of last week's fatal school bus crash in a Swiss alpine tunnel. However, 24 of the 46 children aboard the vehicle survived and some were able to provide witness statements. Mayor Janna Rommel-Opstaele said 13 of the children had returned to Britain by Sunday evening. [8], The crash occurred shortly after 9 pm local time (CET) on 13 March 2012, when the coach, while in the Sierre Tunnel, veered and hit a curb, then collided with a concrete wall head-on, at the end of an emergency turnout area. Belgium crash – 21 injured after bus full of Brits smashes head-on into roadworks on motorway near Aalter The man told VRT News : "The only … Select from premium Belgium Mourns Children Killed In Swiss Bus Crash of the highest quality. Belgian media said it was transporting the children to Phantasialand, a theme park near Cologne, Germany. A Polish registered bus carrying Russian teenagers from Volgograd to Paris lost control, went over an elevated section of … Bus-tram-metro Bus The bus is a convenient means of travel and the network covers a wide area not served by other forms of public transport. Belgium's ambassador to Switzerland, Jan Luykx, has already travelled to the crash site. [5] A further public investigation, closing at the end of June 2014, attributed the crash to a non-criminal error on the part of the coach driver. The Sierre coach crash occurred on 13 March 2012 near Sierre, Switzerland, when a coach carrying school teachers and pupils crashed into a wall in the Sierre Tunnel. At least five people have been killed in a bus crash near the Belgian city of Antwerp. Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. Belgium observed a minute's silence Friday as the country holds a national day of mourning for the 28 people killed in a horrific bus crash in Switzerland. Belgium Bus Crash View gallery A spokesman for local police said: "The bus was travelling with children from a school in Brentwood, Essex and was heading for an excursion to … BRUSSELS (AP) — A bus carrying British schoolchildren went off a highway and overturned near the Belgian coast on Sunday morning, killing one driver and injuring another as well as some of the children, officials said. The coach involved in the crash is owned by Richmond Coaches of Ballinderry Road, Lisburn, in Northern Ireland. The vehicle apparently went out of control, struck a bridge pillar on the E40 highway, then shot off the road, Belgian highway authorities said. It wasnât immediately clear which of the drivers had been at the wheel at the time of the wreck. The road was closed in both directions to facilitate the rescue which took several hours and involved firefighters, police, doctors and three psychologists. Both drivers and all four teachers upon the coach died in the accident. Of the 52 people on board, 28 were killed in the crash, including both drivers, all four teachers, and 22 of the 46 children. Image ID: G84368 Brentwood School in Essex. The passengers, four teachers and 46 pupils from Saint-Lambertus school in Heverlee, Flemish Brabant, and 't Stekske primary school in Lommel, Limburg, were returning home with two other schools originating from Beersel and Haasrode, Flemish Brabant, having spent the previous few days at a skiing resort in Val d'Anniviers in the Swiss Alps. The bus routes in Belgium are handled by 3 different companies: De Lijn (in Dutch), TEC and STIB. A coach driver has died and an adult and a child were seriously injured after a bus carrying British schoolchildren crashed in Belgium, a school spokesman said. [19] Police said that the coach, operated by Aarschot-based Top Tours, a company with an "excellent reputation", was a modern and well-maintained vehicle, and that the children had all been wearing the fitted seatbelts at the time of impact.[20]. [14][15][16], The exact cause of the crash has not yet been determined. PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo . Officials continue to investigate the cause of the crash. [13], Most of the passengers aboard the coach were Belgian nationals. The magnitude of the accident is difficult to take in. "The two drivers in their mid-fifties were James Chance and Stephen Cardwell. Belgium's Foreign Minister Didier Reynders said the bus crash that killed 28 Belgian tourists was a 'shock for the entire nation' Pictured: Bus driver grandfather-of-five killed in Belgium horror crash that left boy, 13, with fractured skull while carrying 34 children from £31,000-a-year Essex private school The Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: "Following the crash of a British bus in Belgium, a British Embassy team is in the area providing consular assistance to those involved. The bus was carrying around 40 passengers, including 34 British children from 11 to 13 years old, authorities said. Three adults and some of the children were sent to a local hospital for treatment. (REUTERS) Brussels: A British bus with 34 children on board overturned and crashed on … Police said that because of the strong impact the coach was badly damaged and many of the passengers were trapped in the wreckage, meaning they had to be freed by the dozens of rescuers mobilised to the scene. âSadly we can confirm that one British national has died following the bus crash in Belgium this morning,â the British Foreign Office said in a statement. He had a scan and they found a small brain bleed as part of his fractured skull.â. (CNN) A bus carrying 34 British schoolchildren between the ages of 10 and 12 crashed into a bridge in Belgium on Sunday morning, the school said. The design of the turnout area, which ended abruptly in a concrete wall, contributed to the severity of the crash. Others were transported to a center in the coastal city of Middelkerke. He said: "This tragedy will hit the whole of Belgium. Peter Vanvelthoven, the mayor of Lommel, whose school lost 15 of its 22 pupils and both of the teachers aboard the coach, announced a memorial service the next week in the town, with attendees including the Belgian royal family and Prince Willem-Alexander and Maxima of the Netherlands. 14 Mar 2012 Belgium bus crash: 13-year-old with fractured skull is released from. [2][3][4] The investigation into the crash initially closed inconclusively in May 2013, having ruled out a number of factors that had been the subject of media speculation but failing to identify a cause. Belgium declared a day of national mourning on 16 March 2012 in memory of the 28 people who died in the crash, including 21 Belgian nationals, with flags being flown at half-mast and a minute's silence being observed. The Belgian federal prosecutorâs office said all of the children survived the crash, but that an adult passenger, later identified as one of the two drivers on the bus, had been killed. [10] Rescuers described the scene as "apocalyptic" and some became distressed as they fought to remove dead and injured children from the wreckage. BRUSSELS (AP) â A bus carrying British schoolchildren went off a highway and overturned near the Belgian coast on Sunday morning, killing one driver and injuring another as well as some of the children, officials said. Belgians are mourning the deaths of 28 people in a bus crash in Switzerland, as relatives identify the bodies of their loved ones. [7], The passengers, four teachers and 46 pupils from Saint-Lambertus school in Heverlee, Flemish Brabant, and 't Stekske primary school in Lommel, Limburg, were returning home with two other schools originating from Beersel and Haasrode, Flemish Brabant, having spent the previous few days at a skiing resort in Val d'Anniviers in the Swiss Alps. [12] Among the passengers aboard the crashed bus were 39 Belgians, ten Dutch children, one German child, one British child, and one Polish child. The BBC reported that a 13-year-old boy from Brentwood School outside London was in intensive care with a head injury. [11] The most seriously injured children were flown to hospitals in Bern and Lausanne. âA team from the British Embassy is on the ground alongside the Belgian local authorities and are working hard to support the people caught up in this terrible incident.â. âAll of the children managed to walk off the coach,â Ian Davies, the schoolâs head teacher, told the BBC. [21], Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Swiss bus crash kills 28; most victims are children", "Swiss tour bus slams into tunnel, killing 28", "Swiss official: bus carrying kids was not speeding", "No final answers in Swiss bus crash investigation", "Sierre bus crash investigation closed without charges", "Dramatique accident de Sierre: cinq ans après, toujours autant de questions", "Swiss Coach Crash Kills at Least 22 Schoolchildren", "28 die in school trip coach crash in Switzerland", "Shock Swiss bus crash kills 28, most children (PHOTOS, VIDEO)", "UPDATE 8-Swiss probe deadly bus crash as families arrive", "Busongeval Zwitserland: hotel werd uitgebaat door CM-vakantiedienst Intersoc", Busongeluk: Nieuwe informatie Zwitserse autoriteiten, "Brits jongetje bij slachtoffers busdrama", "Sierre bus crash investigation closed without charges - Flanders Today", "Alcohol ruled out as cause of coach crash", "Report narrows causes of fatal Sierre bus crash", "Belgian day of national mourning for coach crash dead", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sierre_coach_crash&oldid=986137714, Articles with Dutch-language sources (nl), Articles needing additional references from March 2018, All articles needing additional references, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 30 October 2020, at 01:01. 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