French road crash kills 28 tourists

The coach fell down an embankment

At least 28 people have been killed and 47 injured when a coach carrying German tourists crashed on the A6 motorway in the northern suburbs of the city of Lyon, south-east France.

The coach was heading south to Spain, to take the passengers on a holiday they had won in a lottery.

About 20 passengers and one of the drivers, a Russian, were still trapped inside the coach, hours after the crash, according to rescuers trying to cut them free of the wreckage.

The other driver is dead.

About 60 of the 78 passengers had been asleep and some were thrown from the coach and crushed to death when it flipped over onto its roof.

In these painful circumstances, I would like to express, in my name and on behalf of the French people, my sincere condolences

French president Jacques Chirac

Nineteen have been taken by helicopter to hospital, six with serious injuries.

More than 100 rescue workers and doctors and three professional interpreters attended the crash scene.

French transport secretary Dominique Bussereau, who arrived at 1200 local time (1100 BST), called it a scene of "absolute horror".

Jacques Chirac sent condolences to German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder saying he was "greatly shocked".

The French president expressed his "full solidarity" and "sympathy" to the injured and the victims' families "in this painful moment".

"In these painful circumstances, I would like to express, in my name and on behalf of the French people, my sincere condolences."

Police said the coach smashed through a crash barrier, hit an electrical pole and fell down an embankment.

It appeared to have skidded after trying to overtake another vehicle on a curve while travelling at excessive speed in wet conditions shortly before dawn, at around 0500 local time (0400 BST), they added.

Motorists stopped to drag survivors to safety.

The coach was carrying people, of all ages, from all over Germany.

It belonged to the Tiger Reisen company based in the northern German city of Hanover and reportedly picked up passengers across the country as it headed south throughout the night.

In pictures: French coach crash

A judicial inquiry has been launched.

The German consul stationed in Lyon was on site at the accident hours after the crash, a foreign ministry spokeswoman said.

Lyon's public prosecutor is also at the scene.

The motorway remained closed at Dardilly, just before the Fourviere tunnel, 370 kilometres (230 miles) south-east of Paris, more than five hours after the crash.

This is the second major crash involving German holidaymakers this month.

In Hungary nine days ago, a train hit a coach carrying elderly German tourists, killing 33 people.