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Bus falls 20 metres down embankment in Barcelona, injuring 83
Seven people were seriously hurt after the Sagalés service left the BV-5114 road in Fogars de Montclús on Sunday afternoon
At least 83 people were injured, seven of them seriously, when a bus plunged about 20 metres down an embankment in Fogars de Montclús, Barcelona, on Sunday October 25.
The vehicle left the BV-5114 road at around 4.43pm on a narrow, winding stretch near kilometre 18.4. Early reports said the coach had collided with a car before going over the edge, although the cause of the crash is still being investigated.
Catalonia’s health minister, Olga Pané, said later that evening that 58 people had minor injuries, 18 were less seriously hurt and seven were in a serious condition. Four of the most seriously injured had been flown or driven to hospital, while three more were being evacuated.
The injured were taken to hospitals in Granollers, Josep Trueta in Girona and Vall d’Hebron in Barcelona.
Emergency services sent 23 ambulances, two medical helicopters, including one able to fly at night, and three joint medical and firefighting teams. More than 60 firefighters worked at the scene, assisted by mountain rescue specialists from the GRAE unit.Some passengers managed to get out of the bus and climb back to the road. Others were trapped and had to be freed by crews.
Firefighter intervention chief Santi Lleonart described the area as difficult to access and “very unstable”. He and Pané said fatalities could not be ruled out, because someone may have been thrown from the vehicle or run over in the steep terrain.
Search work continued overnight to establish whether anyone else had been affected.
The vehicle belonged to Sagalés and was operating line 573 between Rodalies de Sant Celoni station and Santa Fe in the Montseny natural park.
It had 65 seats, but the number of people on board was not immediately clear. The service was also acting as a shuttle between a campsite and Fogars de Montclús, collecting passengers at stops along the way.Sagalés said it was cooperating with emergency services and the authorities, and would provide any information needed to clarify what happened.
Catalonia’s Civil Protection activated the alert phase of the Procicat emergency plan after the crash.
The Mossos d’Esquadra closed the BV-5114 in both directions to allow the emergency response to continue. Once rescue work was under way, the force was due to investigate the cause of the accident, in which no other vehicles were reported involved.
Catalonia’s president, Salvador Illa, said he was following events with great concern and was in permanent contact with ministers Núria Parlon and Olga Pané.
“All my support to the affected people and my gratitude to the emergency services for their work,” he said.
Images: Bomberos/X.com
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