Collision of bus, van in Poland kills 9, injures 7

WARSAW, Poland – A bus and a passenger van have collided in Poland, killing all nine people in the van and injuring seven people who were travelling in the bus, rescue officials and media reported Sunday.

The crash occurred late Saturday near the town of Gliwice, in Silesia, a region in southwestern Poland.

The collision involved a larger bus carrying 49 passengers and a Renault Trafic passenger van with nine people aboard, according to officials.

A police spokesman, Marek Slomski, said preliminary findings indicate that the driver of the van lost control of his vehicle and swerved to avoid hitting the side of the road. The van overturned and its roof collided with the front of the larger bus.

Capt. Damian Dudek, a spokesman for firefighters in Gliwice, told the news agency PAP that 49 people were travelling in the bus, including the driver. Seven of them were taken to hospitals, and the driver is the one in the most serious condition.