Twenty people were injured and 11 of them were in a critical condition, after the crash on a level crossing between Millas and Saint-Féliu-d’Amont.

The bus had picked up pupils, aged between 13 and 17, from a nearby secondary school before it was hit.

Pictures from the scene showed the bus split in two by the force of the crash.

Train operator SNCF said witnesses had reported seeing the barriers at the level crossing down at the time of the collision, although that was not confirmed.

The bus, which had left the Christian Bourquin College in Millas, was on the crossing when it was hit by the train, which was travelling from Perpignan at around 80km/h (50mph). Visibility was described as good.

A witness who was on the train told local news website l’Indépendant that “it was a very violent crash – it seemed as if the train would derail”. Some 30 people were on the regional train at the time.

Investigators are waiting to interview the woman driver of the bus who was slightly injured in the crash. Both drivers escaped serious injury.

Carole Delga, president of the Occitanie regional council, said the level crossing appeared to be in very good condition and had been upgraded recently. “The level crossing was very visible”, she said. SNCF said it involved an automatic barrier with standard signals and was not considered particularly dangerous.

But the grandmother of an injured 11-year-old girl who had been on the bus told a very different story. The girl had told her that the barrier had not come down but had remained raised. “The red lights that normally flash did not come on,” she said. “The (bus) driver went through and stopped half way, and that’s where the train crashed into it.”

Rail operator SNCF has modernised level crossings across France in recent years, following numerous accidents, the BBC’s Chris Bockman reports from Toulouse.

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, who visited the scene, said the task of identifying the victims was proving extremely difficult.

“The priority at this stage is to give precise information to the families who are living through a period of anguish that we must make as short as possible”, he said.

Around 70 emergency workers and four helicopters were deployed as part of the rescue effort.

Transport Minister Elisabeth Borne called the crash a “terrible accident” and Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer was due to visit a counselling centre set up at the Christian Bourquin College on Friday.

A statement from the education minister’s office said he would visit “to support students, families, teachers and the entire educational community”.

In a tweet, French President Emmanuel Macron offered his condolences: “All my thoughts for the victims of this terrible accident involving a school bus, as well as their families. The state is fully mobilised to help them.”

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Source: BBC

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It happened in Buyofwe in the province Lualaba, in the south of the country.

Radio Okapi said that the train caught fire after crashing into a ravine. According to reports, it was carrying flammable material.

The train was running between Lubumbashi, the second-largest city, and the town of Luena, 2,000km (1,200 miles) from the capital, Kinshasa.

The province’s Governor Richard Muyej told the BBC there had been an accident but he could not confirm deaths.

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Source: BBC

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Fredzania Thompson, 19, died on Friday afternoon after being struck near the intersection of Hollister and Lee Street in downtown Navasota, police said.

The teen had been standing between two sets of tracks when a Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway (BNSF) train approached and she moved out of the way onto another track.

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The train reportedly went through ticket barriers and into the reception area of Hoboken station.

Images show extensive damage to the train carriages and station, with part of the building roof caved in.

Witnesses described a scene of horror at the station.

A huge emergency services operation swung into action following the crash, with firefighters and transport staff helping people from wrecked carriages.

A spokeswoman for New Jersey Transit, Jennifer Nelson, told reporters that 20 ambulances had arrived at the scene to take the injured to hospital.

Hoboken is across the Hudson River from New York City. Many commuters use the busy station to travel into Manhattan.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie confirmed there had been one fatality. Earlier reports said three people had died.

US rail safety

In 2008 the US Congress passed a law requiring all trains to install Positive Train Control (PTC) systems by the end of 2015.

But most rail companies were unable to meet the deadline as the system is expensive and complex to install. Some rail lines – including New Jersey Transit – threatened to shut down completely if it was enforced. In response, Congressextended the deadline to install PTC systems to 2018.

Rail lines can then apply for an additional two-year extension to finalise updates and test the system. But safety targets for New Jersey’s commuter trains say PTC installation should be completed by 2018.

According New Jersey Transit’s most recent PTC progress report, none of the 440 trains on the New Jersey Transit rail line are equipped with PTC, nor have any employees been trained on the equipment.

PTC safety systems are designed to automatically override the actions of train engineers if the locomotive is travelling too fast. In effect, they act as a safeguard against “human error” which could cause derailments or collisions.

The system uses wifi, GPS and a specific coding system to relay real-time information from trains to control centres.

Last year, the Guardian reported that US trains were far behind those in Europe, which have had automatic safety systems for years.

Commuter Mark Cardona described a “horror scene” at the station.

“I was on my way to work. I was halfway along the platform when I saw a runaway train coming at me.

“It went full speed into and then through the building.

“I froze. People were screaming… The ceiling started to collapse. I ran for my life.”

New Jersey Transit posted on Twitter that the service out of Hoboken station had been suspended as a result of the crash.

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Source: BBC

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