Workers and law enforcement officers prepare to remove a bus after it hit a concrete overpass at Miami International Airport in Miami on Saturday, Dec. 1, 2012. The vehicle was too tall for the 8-foot-6-inch entrance to the arrivals area, and buses are supposed to go through the departures area which has a higher ceiling, according to an airport spokesperson. AP/Wilfredo Lee
MIAMI – Two people died and 30 more were injured when a bus crashed into an overpass at Miami International Airport, authorities said Saturday.
“One male passenger was instantly killed and a second person died from injuries” after the mid-morning accident, airport spokesman Greg Chin told reporters.
Three people were at the hospital in critical condition, he added, while 27 others sustained less extensive injuries.
The accident occurred when a large white motor coach smashed into the overpass that stands eight feet, six inches tall (2.6 meters) at the entrance to the arrivals terminal, Chin said without giving details.
Buses are meant to go through the departures terminal, which has a higher clearance.
Fire trucks, ambulances and police cordoned off the scene as they worked to rescue victims of the crash stuck on the bus, leading to heavy traffic at the airport’s entrance and exits.
The identity and nationality of the victims were not immediately known, but The Miami Herald newspaper reported that the tourist bus had been scheduled to travel to West Palm Beach, a resort town about 70 miles (110 kilometers) northeast of Miami.