Three critically injured after coach crashes into tunnel entrance on motorway near Barcelona

Cristian Reino

Barcelona

Tuesday, 16 July 2024, 11:49

Around 20 people were injured this Tuesday morning (16 July) following a crash involving a coach on the C-32 motorway between Pineda de Mar and Tordera, in the province of Barcelona in the north of Spain. About 60 people were travelling in the vehicle and five of the victims of the accident have been hospitalised.

Three people are in critical condition and have been transferred by helicopter to the Can Ruti hospital in Badalona and the Valle de Hebron in Barcelona. A fourth victim is in a serious condition, one more is in a less serious condition and around fifteen are slightly injured.

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The vehicle has run aground at the entrance to one of the tunnels. The Department of Territori de la Generalitat has reported that «we are working to extract the driver» and that the rest of the passengers, including two seriously injured who have been taken by helicopter to a health centre, have already been evacuated, according to Civil Protection sources.

The vehicle, belonging to the Monbús company, overturned vertically at the entrance to a motorway tunnel. The sixty passengers on the bus are employees of the Inditex fashion chain company who were travelling to the company's factory in Tordera, in the province of Barcelona. The accident occurred at around 8.45am in the morning.

For reasons that are not known at the moment, the driver, who was trapped in the cab, lost control of the coach and went off the road, crashing into the safety barrier and the tunnel. The C-32 is closed on the stretch of road where the accident occurred. According to a witness to the accident, the vehicle crashed into the side wall of the tunnel at full speed.

In the images circulating on the internet, it can be seen how the bus was practically upright at the entrance to the tunnel, bringing traffic to a complete standstill.

Fire brigade sources explained that they have activated ten fire crews, as well as 14 ambulances and two medical helicopters.

The Catalan Minister of the Interior, Joan Ignasi Elena, has expressed his concern about the accident: "We are following with concern the accident involving a coach on the C-32, between Pineda and Tordera, with dozens of people inside. If you are travelling in the area, please follow the instructions of the emergency services".