At least four killed in US school bus collision
SEATTLE, United States—A school bus carrying foreign exchange students collided with a tour vehicle in the US West Coast city of Seattle Thursday, killing at least four people and critically injuring 12 others, officials said.
Images of the fiery accident on a busy bridge showed extensive damage to the left side of the bus, part of which was completely sheared off by the force of the crash.
Melissa Mixon, spokeswoman for North Seattle College, told AFP that 45 foreign exchange students and staff with the school’s international program were on board the bus.
She could not immediately provide information on the nationality or age of the victims.
Local news reports said the four killed were all students.
College president Warren Brown told reporters the students were going to a baseball game, possibly followed by a visit to a local open-air market popular with tourists.
“The accident occurred when a charter bus traveling with the students collided with a ‘Ride the Ducks’ tour vehicle,” Mixon said.
The college hosts some 1,000 international students from 50 countries, including China, Korea and Japan, according to its website.
The school year is scheduled to begin on Monday.
Passengers on board the bus and the “Ride the Ducks” amphibious vehicle—used for tours in several US cities—could be seen crawling out of the wreckage, some of them bloodied, while others were carried away on stretchers.
The “Duck” name is derived from DUKW, which were six-wheel amphibious vehicles used by the US military during World War II.
‘Bodies just everywhere’
One witness told the Seattle Times that the tour vehicle appeared to have something wrong with its front left tire as it swerved and hit an SUV before crashing into the school bus coming the opposite way.
Bradley Sawhill, who witnessed the crash, told the paper that everything happened very fast.
“I got out of my car and there were bodies just everywhere,” he said. “People lying in the street.”
Lieutenant Sue Stangl of the Seattle Fire Department told reporters that 50 people were evacuated from the scene of the accident that took place shortly after 11:00 a.m. on a busy bridge that links the city’s center with northwest Seattle.
Leila Gray, spokeswoman at Harborview Medical Center, said 14 people were being treated at the trauma facility, including 12 in critical condition.
Dozens more were transported to other area hospitals, which launched an appeal for blood.
Stangl said most of the victims were on board the school bus.
She said 90 firefighters rushed to the scene of the accident on Aurora Bridge, which was shut down to traffic.
Some of the school bus passengers who escaped relatively unscathed were taken to the nearby Woodland Park Zoo where they were given first aid before being taken back to their campus.
Other bloodied victims were laid out on yellow tarps near the scene of the accident.
Seattle Mayor Ed Murray said his thoughts and prayers were with the victims and their families.
“Seattle had a terrible tragedy today,” he said in a statement. “There has been loss of life and dozens of injuries.”
Seattle police said an investigation was underway to determine the cause of the crash.
“Collision investigators are reviewing witness reports of a possible mechanical issue on the Duck vehicle,” a statement said, adding that preliminary alcohol tests on the drivers came out negative.
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