Belgium coach crash kills 12

Most of the people died in the flames

At least 12 passengers have died in Belgium when a German coach hit the central reservation of a motorway near a French border crossing, police say.

More than 37 people were injured in the accident, near the Hensies border post.

Most of those who died were young Germans - part of a group of mixed nationalities on a trip to France.

Police said the driver apparently lost control of the vehicle, which scraped against the motorway barrier before bursting into a ball of fire.

Panic

The accident happened at about 0500 (0400 GMT) on Saturday. The coach was left completely charred by the fire.

Belgian media said one of the two drivers had been killed - the other apparently escaped through a window and went to open rear doors to let out trapped passengers.

"It was like a fireball," said Jose Otero, a lorry driver who had been sleeping on his vehicle at the time of the crash.

"I was woken up by a loud noise, and when I opened the window of my cab I saw the bus in flames. People were jumping out of the windows screaming. One young man who had got out was completely panicked. He was yelling that his sister was still aboard the bus."

The bus was carrying 49 passengers of mixed nationalities including Germans, Bosnians, Turks, Croats, Russians, Romanians, Ukrainians, Mongolians and one American, officials said.

The German ambassador to Brussels has been sent to the scene, the German foreign ministry said.