A train and a school bus have collided near Perpignan in southern France, killing at least four children, reports say.
Perpignan in France. Photo: santirf/123RF
Another nine people were reported to be injured on the bus, seven of them seriously in the incident between Millas and Saint-Feliu-d'Amont.
The students on the bus are reported to be between the ages of 11 and 15.
"Emergency services have been mobilised and a crisis co-ordination unit set up," a local official told Reuters.
The crash happened on a section of line between Perpignan and Villefranche-de-Conflent, the local news website l'Independant reports.
A witness who was on the train, named as Barbara, said "it was a very violent crash - it seemed as if the train would derail".
Casualties are being rushed to hospital in Perpignan. Police and emergency medics are at the scene.
Transport Minister Elisabeth Borne called the crash a "terrible accident" and said on Twitter that she was going to the scene, about 850km (530 miles) south of Paris.
- BBC
