As of: March 29, 2024, 9:00 a.m
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Rescue workers are working on a crashed bus at an accident site on Autobahn 44 (A44). © Daniel Schröder/dpa
First on the A9, now on the A44: For the second time in a few days, a coach veers off a motorway and falls onto its side. This time a group of vocational students from Warburg had an accident.
Werl - More than 20 people were injured in a bus accident on Autobahn 44 in North Rhine-Westphalia on Friday night. According to a police spokesman, students from a vocational college in Warburg on the border with Hesse were sitting in the coach with around 60 passengers, which left the road near Werl and fell onto its side. They were therefore on the way back from a trip to England. The students are young adults.
The police spokesman initially spoke of 21 slightly injured people and one seriously injured person. The control center in Dortmund later spoke of 20 slightly injured people and one seriously injured. It was agreed that no one's life was in danger. The driver of the bus was reportedly uninjured. The cause of the accident is still being determined; according to initial findings, no other vehicles were involved.
The accident happened in the direction of Kassel. The A44 was then completely closed on one side from the Unna Ost exits to Werl. The closure is likely to last for several more hours, the police spokesman said early in the morning. The bus had to be righted before being rescued. In addition to the fire department, a rescue helicopter was also on duty.
It was only on Wednesday morning that a serious accident occurred on the A9 near Leipzig, when a coach with 54 passengers on the way from Berlin to Zurich left the road and fell onto its side. Four women died, six other people were seriously injured and 29 were slightly injured. According to current knowledge, no other vehicles were involved in this accident. An investigation was launched against the bus driver on suspicion of negligent homicide and negligent bodily harm.
In recent years there have been repeated serious coach accidents in Germany. Nevertheless, buses are one of the relatively safe means of transport. According to accident statistics, they are comparatively rarely involved in traffic accidents with personal injuries. dpa