Fatal road accident involving Ukrainians in France: children returning from educational exchange among victims
Among the Ukrainians injured in a bus accident in France are children returning from a study exchange, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
"Terrible news about the tragic bus accident in France, in which many Ukrainians, including children, were injured. They were returning from an educational exchange at a French lyceum in Brittany," the head of state said.
According to him, on the way to Paris, the bus lost control and drove into a ditch.
Four adults are known to have died, three of them Ukrainian citizens. Two more people are in serious condition, and French medics are fighting for their lives.
The remaining children have moderate and light injuries and are receiving medical care, the president noted.
Zelenskyy noted that the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has sent a team of diplomats and consuls led by the ambassador to the scene: "They are providing assistance to our citizens and maintaining contact with the families of the victims, as well as with representatives of the French authorities and services at the scene."
The Ministers of Foreign and Internal Affairs Andriy Sybiha and Ihor Klymenko are also regularly informed about the condition of the victims and all the circumstances of the incident, the head of state added.
"I am grateful to the French authorities for the large-scale involvement of rescue services: more than 50 emergency crews were deployed to urgently deliver our children to hospitals, and they continue to help our people. This is a true expression of French solidarity. I know that the office of French President Emmanuel Macron continues to help and keep the situation under control. The anti-crisis center of the French Foreign Ministry and local authorities have also been mobilized," the president noted.
- A fatal accident involving a bus carrying Ukrainian citizens occurred in the French department of Sarthe around noon on June 13.
- After the tragedy, French media reported that there were about 60 Ukrainians in the cabin, including children. According to preliminary data, the bus drove into a ditch. The accident killed at least four people, 11 more were seriously injured, and more than 30 were lightly injured.