Australian among 33 in bus crash in France

An Australian man is among 33 passengers injured in France after a bus travelling to London flipped on a wet highway.

Emergency services at the side of the bus accident near Berny-en-Santerre, northern France. Picture: AFP

Thirty-three people were injured after a bus carrying tourists, including an Australian man, overturned in France.

The bus was heading from Paris to London when it overturned, flipping on to its side on a wet highway in the northern Somme region of France around midday (10pm AEDT).

The Courier Picard newspaper reported that the bus skidded during a curve on the wet road, crashed into a barrier and then overturned.

Pictures from the scene showed the bus on its side with the windows smashed.

An Australian is among the injured. Picture: AFP

Of the 33 people on board, 29 sustained light injuries and four were seriously hurt, the Somme prefecture said in a statement, though the fire brigade put the number at five.

Their lives are not in danger, the prefecture said.

Eleven passengers on the FlixBus were French and 22 were foreign nationals – 10 from Britain, five from the United States, two from Romania, and one each from Spain, Australia, Mauritius, Japan and Sri Lanka.

Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) told News Corp it was assisting the Australian.

“DFAT is providing consular assistance to an Australian man following a bus crash in France,” a spokesperson said.

The injured were taken to Amiens Hospital and several other regional facilities.

A press official, Herve Fosse, said most of the injuries were not serious and about half were not expected to remain in hospital.

The prefecture, which represents the state, said the bus left the road near an exit, but provided no further details.

The low-cost FlixBus firm has its headquarters in Germany.

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The Flixbus overturned as it took an exit from the A1 motorway. Picture: AFP

The Munich-based company, which operates low-cost bus services between major European cities, said in a statement that it was in “close contact with local authorities to determine the exact causes of the accident, and to take care of the passengers”.

A fatal accident occurred in southern France on October 6 when a Flixbus en route from Barcelona to Bordeaux flipped onto its side after swerving off the road, claiming the life of a 21-year-old Frenchwoman. Another 17 people were injured.

The driver, a 50-year-old woman, has been charged with involuntary homicide.

Originally published as Australian among 33 in bus crash in France