Two dead, six seriously injured as Polish bus crashes in France

Two were confirmed dead and the number could "maybe even be three", said Alain Perret, the prefect of the Haut Rhin department in the Alsace region bordering Germany. He said six were in a serious condition.

The bus was carrying 68 people, three staff members and 65 passengers, when it crashed on the A36 motorway, which links France to Germany.

The owners of the bus, Polish travel agency Sindbad, which has a fleet of coaches, had chartered it to another company Albatros that ran buses to the French cities of Mulhouse, Cannes, Toulon, Lyon, Marseille and Nice.

"We immediately received aid, the rescue teams were there in minutes and medical care was abundant," a passenger told Poland's TVN24 channel.

The bus was found lying on its side in a ditch and two emergency rescue services helicopters were deployed at the scene.