A 12-year-old Israeli girl died when a driverless bus rolled down a slope at a ski station in France’s eastern Savoie region overnight, local authorities said on Saturday.
Fourteen other Israeli tourists were on the bus in the town of Belleville and had just left their hotel to go to the airport when the accident occurred.
The others suffered slight injuries, and two people were taken to a hospital, according to Bruno Charlot, the deputy prefect in Albertville, the nearest large town.
The accident occurred shortly before 1:00 a.m.
The tourists had just boarded the bus when the “driver got out of the vehicle following a technical incident,” Charlot told AFP.
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition
by email and never miss our top stories
By signing up, you agree to the
terms
“The bus then started to roll backwards, went down several meters over a very steep grassy slope and then tipped over and came to a halt when it hit a small stone building,” he said.
The girl ended up trapped underneath the bus.
Forty-five firefighters and 28 vehicles were involved in the rescue operation, emergency services said.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
