Man critical after crash with tourist coach

A 25-year-old man is in a critical condition after his vehicle was involved in a head-on collision with a coach in Qawra.

The incident happened at about 7.30 a.m. in Triq it-Trunċiera, near Ta' Fra Ben, the police said.

Rescuers from the Civil Protection Department had to extract the man from the wreckage of a Peugeot 206.

The driver from Żabbar was taken to hospital by ambulance. None of the occupants of the coach, which included tourists, was injured, but the coach driver, a 43-year-old from Qormi, was treated for shock.

The impact of the crash was so severe that parts of the car, including a wheel, were scattered for several metres across the road, according to witnesses.

The road was closed to traffic for some time after the incident.