AT least 46 people were injured, four of them critically, after a bus crashed into a city-centre building in Catalunya.
Emergency services rushed to the scene after the coach, an intercity service carrying 55 passengers, smashed into the façade of a government-owned office building in Lleida at around 7:15 a.m. on Wednesday.
Authorities have launched an investigation into the accident, though early reports suggest the driver lost control of the vehicle before it veered into the building on Rambla Ferran.
The town’s mayor, Felix Larrosa, described the crash as ‘the most serious accident in Lleida’s history.’
“We are heartbroken,” he told reporters at the crash site.
“Had it happened a little later, it could have been even worse,” he added.
Larrosa said the driver had recently joined the coach operator, Gamon, and was accompanied on board by an instructor, who suffered the amputation of one limb following the crash.
He added the driver was not physically injured but was left in a state of shock.
Authorities deployed 11 fire units and a medical helicopter to the scene following the crash.
Most of the injured were treated at the scene, emergency services said, while 13 were taken to Arnau de Vilanova Hospital, and others were transferred to Lleida’s CUAP emergency care centre.
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