Twelve tourists killed in Germany bus crash

Twelve people were killed yesterday and six were in a critical condition after a Polish coach crashed into a bridge on a wet motorway south of Berlin, emergency services said.

“The number killed is now 12, and the number of very seriously injured six,” a police spokesman said.

The spokesman said that the bus hit a bridge pillar after swerving to avoid a car joining the motorway, not far from Berlin’s Schoenefeld airport.

The fire brigade had said earlier 22 people have grave or light injuries after the accident near the Schoenefelder Kreuz motorway junction.

Some 250 members of the emergency services were at the scene, supported by helicopters. The motorway was closed after the accident.

The nationalities of those killed or injured was not clear. Reports said that the coach had 46 people on board.