Two dead & 30 injured after bus carrying dozens of tourists to Oktoberfest party crashes in Germany as driver detained
AT LEAST two tourists have died and 30 are injured after a horror bus crash in Germany.
The bus was carrying around 35 people when it veered off the road and overturned at around 5.41am on Sunday.
More than 200 firefighters, medics and police rushed to the scene on the A96 highway near Munich.
Six people were airlifted by rescue helicopter to nearby hospitals while another two were transported in ambulances.
A further 22 passengers were treated at the scene before several were also rushed to emergency clinics.
The two victims, aged 27 and 58, were both Philippine nationals
The younger of the two was identified yesterday evening as a young woman who lived in Italy.
A total of 17 people were classed as seriously injured, which 13 passengers suffered minor injuries.
Dramatic images show the bus lying on its side, with the front windscreen completely smashed and debris strewn across the ground.
All passengers, apart from two drivers, were believed to be Filipino, according to local media outlet DW.
The tourist bus had set off from Milan, Italy, heading to Munich’s Oktoberfest when tragedy struck.
No other vehicles were involved in the crash, police said.
A section of the highway was completely blocked while emergency services swarmed the site.
“It is naturally very chaotic at first, and establishing the facts is difficult,” explained a spokesperson for the local police headquarters.
Two Italian bus drivers were also injured in the crash.
The driver behind the wheel at the time of the incident is now under investigation for negligent homicide.
“That is standard procedure,” a police spokeswoman explained.
Munich’s Oktoberfest is the world’s largest beer festival, attracting millions of visitors to the Bavarian capital each year.
Around 3.8million people have visited the festival this year – which runs from September 19 to October 4 – already 300,000 more than last year.
It comes just weeks after five people were killed and 40 were injured in a horror bus crash in Switzerland.
A huge rescue operation was launched with helicopters and paramedics deployed to the scene in Engadine valley in the Alps.
The tragedy unfolded after the coach careened off the side of a road between the villages of Susch and Zernez before overturning.
