Saxony - Boy dies in bus accident in the Ore Mountains - 13 injured
A ten-year-old boy has been killed and 13 other people injured in a serious bus accident in the Ore Mountains. According to police, the bus collided with the side of a winter service vehicle in Sehmatal on Tuesday morning and then crashed head-on into a tree. Rescue workers tried to save the boy's life, but he succumbed to his serious injuries at the scene of the accident.
All passengers on the bus were injured in the accident, according to the police. Two adults, including the 45-year-old bus driver and a 59-year-old female passenger, suffered serious injuries. Eleven other children and adults aged between eleven and 39 were slightly injured. One ten-year-old girl initially remained in hospital for observation. Out of consideration for the children, the police did not want to give any further details about the schools the girls and boys were on their way to.
The roads were extremely slippery
The bus had set off early on Tuesday morning and picked up the schoolchildren and other passengers in the surrounding villages. On a sloping road, it hit a gritting vehicle shortly before the district of Cranzahl and crashed head-on into a tree. The impact was so violent that the front two meters of the bus were completely destroyed. The bus driver had to be freed from the wreckage by the fire department using heavy equipment.
According to the Ministry of Education, the children on the bus were pupils at a grammar school. "This is terrible news that has hit me hard," Minister of Education Christian Piwarz (CDU) told the German Press Agency. "My thoughts are with the injured children and their parents."
According to the bus company, the bus on route 428 was on its way to the bus station in Annaberg-Buchholz. The accident occurred on a detour route, a spokesperson for Regionalverkehr Erzgebirge GmbH said on Tuesday in response to an inquiry.
The pupils received psychological support in an after-school care center, according to the Ministry of Education. The State Office for Schools and Education is also investigating the need for further assistance. "We will offer the affected school and the pupils all the support they need in this situation," Piwarz assured.
According to the police's initial assessment, the road was slippery at the time of the accident. The traffic accident service has begun investigating the cause.
On Tuesday morning, rain had led to black ice on numerous roads in the high regions of Saxony. "The precipitation was converted from snow to rain by a warm layer of air at around 1500 meters in the morning," explained Florian Engelmann from the German Weather Service. If the rain then falls on cleared, exposed roads, which have a temperature below zero degrees, especially at high altitudes, it becomes extremely slippery.
Serious bus accidents involving schoolchildren have already caused great concern in the past. In January 2020, for example, a school bus with more than 20 children on board skidded in western Thuringia, slid down a slope and overturned several times. Two eight-year-olds from a second class died and many other children were injured. In October 2015, a coach carrying schoolchildren from Saxony crashed on the highway near Erfurt. The five-year-old son of a teacher died and more than a dozen pupils aged 13 and 14 were seriously injured.
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- The bus accident occurred in Sehmatal, a location known for its close proximity to the Ore Mountains in Saxony.
- Despite the slippery roads due to rain and black ice, the School bus was still scheduled to make its route to the bus station in Annaberg-Buchholz.
- The local police are collaborating with the traffic accident service to investigate the cause of the bus accident that occurred in Winter conditions.
- In Saxony, the Ore Mountains are particularly challenging during Winter, often leading to risks on the roads and accidents like this unfortunate incident involving the School bus.
- The department of education in Saxony has been doing their best to provide psychological support to the Children who have been affected by the bus accident, including offering counseling sessions at after-school care centers.
- According to reports, Christian Piwarz, the Minister of Education in Saxony, expressed his deep condolences following the fatal bus accident in Sehmatal, where a young boy lost his life and 13 others were injured.
- This is not the first time serious bus accidents have affected children in Germany, with previous incidents causing great concern and resulting in strict safety measures for School transportation.
Source: www.stern.de
