Poll of the Day > Four children killed in school bus and train collision in France.

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/12/14/570826636/four-children-killed-in-school-bus-and-train-collision-in-france

A school bus taking around 20 students home Thursday afternoon collided with a train in the south of France, resulting in "numerous victims," according to the local government.

Prime Minister Edouard Phillipe told Le Monde that four people died in the crash and 20 were injured, 11 critically.

French media reports that all of the people killed were school children.

Reports give the ages of the children on the bus as 11 to 15, or 13 to 17.

Le Monde says there were 25 people aboard the regional train and none was seriously injured.

The train and the bus collided in a village called Millas outside the city of Perpignan, close to the Spanish border. The circumstances around the crash remain unclear, but the local government described it as "a terrible accident."

Pictures from the scene showed rescue workers around the school bus sheered into two pieces.

French President Emmanuel Macron said France's full resources had been mobilized in the rescue of victims.

The Prfet of the Pyrnes-Orientales said it was a major operation, including the work of nearly 100 firefighters and 15 police units. Parents were asked to convene at the Millas school where they would be "kept informed."

France's national rail authority, SNCF, told The Associated Press that witnesses reported the crossing gates had been working properly. And a rail official said the barrier which includes flashing lights had been lowered at the time of the crash.

France's Interior Minister Grard Collomb was making his way to the scene of the accident Thursday, tweeting that he was "overwhelmed by the tragedy."

tbh, I'm so accustomed to acts of terror being responsible for French tragedies that it feels weird to read about a more normal accident. While it talks about the details being unclear, it seems almost certainly the bus driver's error unless somebody deliberately pushed the bus into the path of the train.
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Ban buses!
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ban wheels
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Ban trav- oh, wait.
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I guess school buses don't stop at all train crossings in France?
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Zangulus posted...

Blaqthourne posted...

I guess school buses don't stop at all train crossings in France?

The train was moving at 50mph. If it was coming around a curve, its possible that even stopping they wouldnt have been able to see it in time.

They have said that the bus came to a stop on the tracks for some reason though.

They're suppose to open the window when they stop so they can hear if anything is coming. Also, it you can't make it completely over the tracks, you don't go until you can. But I would like to know if they was a reason they stopped on the tracks.
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Zangulus posted...

Zeus posted...

tbh, I'm so accustomed to acts of terror being responsible for French tragedies that it feels weird to read about a more normal accident. While it talks about the details being unclear, it seems almost certainly the bus driver's error unless somebody deliberately pushed the bus into the path of the train.

There are reports from some people saying that the arms didnt come down and the lights were not on when the bus drove onto the tracks. Theres also a report that the batteries that power the stop lights may have been stolen recently.

Its hard to say right now.

Then it'd be an unusual terror attack. Oo tbh, scifi has long-proposed acts of terror where people could disrupt infrastructure like that, but usually it involves something more high-tech than stealing batteries.

LinkPizza posted...

Zangulus posted...

Blaqthourne posted...

I guess school buses don't stop at all train crossings in France?

The train was moving at 50mph. If it was coming around a curve, its possible that even stopping they wouldnt have been able to see it in time.

They have said that the bus came to a stop on the tracks for some reason though.

They're suppose to open the window when they stop so they can hear if anything is coming. Also, it you can't make it completely over the tracks, you don't go until you can. But I would like to know if they was a reason they stopped on the tracks.

Pretty much how it's supposed to work, but few people actually follow it.
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Zangulus posted...

LinkPizza posted...

Zangulus posted...

Blaqthourne posted...

I guess school buses don't stop at all train crossings in France?

The train was moving at 50mph. If it was coming around a curve, its possible that even stopping they wouldnt have been able to see it in time.

They have said that the bus came to a stop on the tracks for some reason though.

They're suppose to open the window when they stop so they can hear if anything is coming. Also, it you can't make it completely over the tracks, you don't go until you can. But I would like to know if they was a reason they stopped on the tracks.

Is this for France, though? I dont know where you live.

I do agree, I want to know why they came to a stop at all... that part is questionable no matter what the circumstance.

US.
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