John

GRENOBLE, France -- A bus carrying Polish pilgrims from a holy site in the French Alps plunged off a steep mountain road, crashed into a river bed and burst into flames Sunday, killing 24 people, authorities said.

Another 20 people were seriously injured in the wreck, which occurred at about 9:30 a.m. near the village of Vizille, not far from Grenoble, officials said.

Firefighters said the bus had 51 people on board, including the driver, and plowed through a barrier before it plunged about 65 feet onto the banks of the La Romanche River, firefighters said.

Residents of Notre-Dame-de-Mesage, a town near the site, said the bus missed a 90-degree bend in the steep mountain road. They said the bus burst into flames and was destroyed in the blaze.

Buses have been prohibited from using the 5-mile stretch of road -- which has a 7 percent grade -- without a special permit since a similar accident in the 1970s, also involving pilgrims.

Full story at 24 Pilgrims Die in Bus Crash in France - Newsday.com

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Ang3r_D4nger

It is sad to hear about these kind of accidents but at least most of them lived long and fulfilling lives, the people had to know that the road was dangerous and could have chosen to take another way down.

Sad but things happen like this everyday,
Michael