At least two children killed in bus crash in eastern France, authorities say

At least two people were killed and 16 injured in a bus crash on Friday morning in eastern France near the Swiss border, local authorities said.

French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu wrote in a post on X that two children had died in the accident.

The local prefecture said in a statement that three of the injured were in critical condition.

Yves Cristin, the mayor of the small town of Lent where the crash took place, said a school bus had been involved, although the local prefecture said the accident involved an intercity bus.

Cristin said 70 people were affected by the crash, though the local prefecture said the number affected was about 40. The town has opened its community hall to provide care and shelter to the crash victims.

"I arrived minutes after the accident and people were in shock," Cristin told BFM TV. "The side of the bus was torn off, and clearly, the people who were on that side must have been seriously injured."

BFM TV showed a picture of a blue and white bus tilted in what appeared to be a ditch on the side of the road, while a crowd of people stood outside of it.

Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot said he was on his way to the scene.