35 hurt as Romania bus overturns in France

A bus carrying Romanians from Spain blew a tyre and overturned in southern France Sunday, killing an infant girl and injuring about 35 people, some critically, local officials said. The accident happened around 0730 GMT near the town of Vidauban as the bus, carrying about 40 people, travelled towards Nice, police said. The bus veered across the highway after blowing a tyre, struck another vehicle and tipped over a security barrier. No one was injured in the other vehicle. The local prefect's office said 10 of the passengers suffered serious injury and that three were in critical condition. Authorities sent 120 emergency workers, 30 ambulances and five helicopters to the scene and victims were evacuated to hospitals in Marseille, Nice and Toulon. Markings on the bus indicated it belonged to Rosu Tour, a transport and travel company based in the northern Romanian city of Bistrita. The Romanian foreign ministry said it had been rented to a company in the eastern city of Suceava, the Mediafax news agency reported. The bus had departed from Madrid and was heading to Bistrita, Clara Staicu of the Romanian embassy's consular department told AFP, adding that it was running on a regular bus route and was not a tourist charter. "Our consul in Marseille is at the scene and is putting together a list of the injured persons to contact the families," she said. Expressing "profound sadness" at the accident, French Interior Minister Manuel Valls said a judicial probe would be held to determine its cause.