83 injured as bus plunges down embankment near Barcelona

Eighty-three people were injured, seven of them seriously, when a bus veered off a narrow, winding road and fell down a 20-metre embankment near Barcelona on Sunday afternoon, Catalan emergency services said.

The crash happened in Fogars de Montclús, near Barcelona, after the bus collided with a car, Spanish news agency EFE reported. The bus then plunged down the embankment, prompting a major emergency response.

The Catalan medical emergency services said 83 people were injured in total, including seven seriously, 18 less seriously and 58 with minor injuries. Emergency services deployed 23 ambulances and two medical helicopters to the scene, along with firefighters, medical teams and psychological support teams, and rescue crews searched the area to check no victims had been missed.

The bus belonged to the fleet of operator Sagalés and was running on route 573 between the Fogars de Montclús information centre and Santa Fe del Montseny, the company said. Sagalés said it was collaborating with the emergency services and authorities from the outset and that caring for the affected passengers and driver was its priority.

Salvador Illa, president of the Catalan government, said he was following the accident “with great concern” and was in constant contact with Catalonia’s interior and health ministers. No deaths were reported in the initial emergency-services accounts, and the cause of the crash was under investigation.

Sources

• The Hindu (EFE): “Emergency services say 83 injured, 7 seriously, in bus crash near Barcelona” — https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/emergency-services-say-83-injured-7-seriously-in-bus-crash-near-barcelona/article71625494.ece
• Sky News via Great Yorkshire Radio: “Over 80 People Injured After Bus Plunges 65ft Down Spanish Hillside” — https://greatyorkshireradio.co.uk/world/over-80-people-injured-after-bus-plunges-65ft-down-spanish-hillside/