At least 30 people have been injured in a horror crash which saw four buses carrying hundreds of soldiers collide with another vehicle.
The major crash took place tonight at around 7:30pm near Mantes-la-Jolie, France on the A13, according to a police source. At least four buses carrying dozens of soldiers and another vehicle are said to have collided while the group were en route to Paris for a seminar. Two people have been left “seriously injured”, with several others rushed to hospital and the casualty count “still ongoing.”
The driver of one of the buses and two cadets were taken to the Percy military hospital with non-life threatening injuries, France’s Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu said.
The buses were each carrying around fifty soldiers, including students from the army, navy, air force, and gendarmerie. According to French media outelt Le Figaro, more than 120 people were involved in the accident, although the full circumstances of the crash are not yet known.
The publication said that according to reports, the accident occurred when a light vehicle was attempting to drive between the buses, which were transporting soldiers to Paris for a seminar. A chain collision then ensued. A number of emergency service vehicles raced to the scene shortly after 7:30pm. Yvelines Departmental Fire and Rescue Service then urged members of the public to “avoid the area” in the “Province-Paris” direction.
Responding to the news in a post on X, Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu said he sends his thoughts to all those injured, their families, their school friends and brothers in arms. Lecornu wrote: “Buses carrying officer cadets attending the Joint Seminar of the Grandes Écoles Militaires were involved in a serious road accident this evening on their return from a visit to the Evreux air base.
“The driver of one of these buses, a soldier, and two gendarme cadets were taken to the Percy military hospital. Their life is not in danger. Around thirty other slightly injured soldiers were taken to surrounding hospitals. Thoughts go out to all the injured, their families, their school friends and brothers in arms. Thanks to the emergency services mobilised.”
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