Spain Bus Accident Leaves 27 Dead
S O R I A, Spain, July 7 -- Relatives and parents viewed bodies at amakeshift morgue and visited hospitals before dawn today, sortingout whether their loved ones were among the 27 killed or 13 injuredwhen a livestock truck crashed into a bus carrying teenagers tosummer camp.
White-frocked Red Cross workers supported wobbly, weepingparents as they were led into the local sports complex where thebodies, including 20 children — 17 boys and three girls — had beentaken after the accident late Thursday. Psychologists and twopriests were on hand to lend support to the stricken parents.
The more fortunate relatives headed for hospitals in Soria andZaragoza to comfort the injured.
Besides the children, the dead included four school monitors,the mother of an injured teacher and the drivers of the twovehicles. Nine teenagers were among the injured.
Head-On Collision
The bus collided head-on into the truck, loaded with live pigs,when it crossed over its lane into oncoming traffic, officialssaid. The front end of the bus was completely mangled, and seatsand bodies were strewn across the road and into a deep ditch wherethe bus flipped over and landed.
Juan Jose Lucas, president of the regional government of Castileand Leon, described the scene as “horrendous.”
“It’s a day of tremendous pain, especially when it deals withyoung people who were going on holidays,” said Lucas.
The regional Roman Catholic bishop, Francisco Perez, who was tohold a funeral mass at the sports complex later in the day, helpedconsole parents. He told reporters that many of the parents learnedfor the first time of the death of their children when they got tothe stadium.
“They’ve taken my daughter from me. My God!” one woman wailedafter viewing the bodies.
The collision occurred shortly after 4 p.m. on a hillnear this farming city, some 125 miles northeastof the capital Madrid.
Soria Mayor Eloisa Alvarez said that the truck crossed into theoncoming lane and hit the bus at a turn in the road.
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