German tourist bus overturns in Norway leaving eleven injured
Eleven German tourists were hospitalised after their coach left the road on a bend in central Norway on Saturday.
A coach carrying 34 German tourists overturned on the E6 highway near Namsskogan in central Norway on Saturday, sending eleven people to hospital with minor injuries. The bus came off the road in a gentle curve where the surface may have been uneven, according to a freelance reporter at the scene for broadcaster NRK.
Emergency services and volunteers used a hammer to break into the vehicle and reach the passengers. An air ambulance and rescue helicopters were dispatched, while the local municipality activated a crisis team and arranged transport to a care centre for those less seriously hurt. The highway was closed for several hours before reopening on Saturday evening.
Driver and vehicle had clean record
The head of the bus company, Jörn Frenzel, told regional newspaper Adresse that the driver was among the firm's most experienced and the coach was new. A lorry driver who had followed the bus for about an hour before the crash said it had been travelling calmly. The cause of the overturn has not been determined.
"These are our best drivers and the bus is nice and new. We don't know why this happened,"
Frenzel said, adding that the company was relieved no one had suffered serious injuries.
Investigation under way
Police and accident investigators will examine the vehicle, the road surface and driver data to establish what caused the coach to leave the carriageway. The mayor of Namsskogan, Elisabeth Vollmo Bjørhusdal, said the municipality was prepared to support passengers who were shaken by the ordeal. With the E6 now fully reopened, the focus shifts to the inquiry and the recovery of the tourists' onward travel plans.
