At least 28 killed in French coach crash

At least 28 people have been killed and some 40 injured after a coach carrying German tourists crashed on a French motorway outside…

At least 28 people have been killed and some 40 injured after a coach carrying German tourists crashed on a French motorway outside Lyon, French local government officials have said.

The coach, bound for Spain, was carrying 78 people ranging from teenagers to pensioners who had won the trip in a lottery, when it struck an embankment and overturned in wet conditions around 5 a.m. (4 a.m. British time).

Police said the coach, the only vehicle involved in the accident, appeared to have been speeding.

Rescuers took 19 people to hospital, others were treated on the spot and five passengers were unhurt, local officials said.

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It was the second major crash involving German holidaymakers this month after a train in Hungary sliced a coach in half, killing 33 people, nine days ago. The vehicle was full of mainly elderly German tourists.

The passenger train smashed into the coach and dragged it 200 metres (yards) down the track near Lake Balaton, Hungary's leading tourist area.

The latest crash in France occurred as traffic returned to normal following three days of strikes over pension reforms.