A school bus carrying primary school students returning from summer camps tipped into a ravine on Saturday morning, injuring 14 people, including two adults in absolute emergency, after going off the road on National 85, near Corps, in Isère. “The track of the driver’s discomfort is at this stage privileged”, indicated the public prosecutor of Grenoble Eric Vaillant in a press release.
This bus transported primary school children to Grenoble station after a school trip to the Hautes-Alpes, organized by the municipality of Sceaux (Hauts-de-Seine), according to the Isère prefecture. “The result of this accident is 2 adults classified as absolute emergency (the driver and an accompanying person) as well as 1 adult and 11 children classified as relative emergency”, according to the prefecture. “The driver of the vehicle and his companion were seriously injured in the accident and transported to the CHU with a vital prognosis,” said the Grenoble prosecutor’s office, which opened an investigation into the circumstances of the accident.
“In a bend, the driver continued straight and the bus fell in the woods to the torrent (…). Fortunately, the children were all attached”, according to the statement from the prosecution. “The children are shocked, but none suffers serious injuries. The same is true for the attendant. Four children were taken to hospital for observation”, according to the same source.
Dangerousness
The school bus was carrying a total of six adults and 40 primary school children, according to the prefecture. The accident which involved the only bus occurred around 8:45 a.m. on national 85, known as Route Napoléon, according to the same source. An important rescue system has been put in place involving in particular 90 sappers, supported by two civil security helicopters based in the department.
“The mayor of Corps has made a communal hall available pending the repatriation of the children to their department of origin” and the prosecution has seized the association France Victimes “to provide any useful assistance to the families”, indicates the prosecution. from Grenoble. The investigation was entrusted to the gendarmes of the EDSR of Isère. Traffic was cut off on the national at the level of the accident and the prefecture asked motorists “to avoid the area so as not to hinder the emergency services”.
According to France 3, the children and their companions were returning from a ski holiday in the family resort of Saint-Michel-de-Chaillol, in the Hautes-Alpes. Contacted by AFP, the holiday center of this town refused to make any declaration. The Route Napoléon, a very steep national road linking Grenoble to Gap, is known for its dangerousness, with frequent fatal road accidents, including one in July 2007 which claimed the lives of 26 Polish pilgrims.