One dead after Eurolines bus crashes in northern France

AFP - A Eurolines bus from the Netherlands ran off a motorway in northern France Friday, leaving at least one person dead and three others seriously injured, rescue officials said.
   
The bus was carrying 37 passengers of a dozen nationalities including Dutch, British and Chilean, and had just entered France on the A2 motorway from Belgium. Fourteen passengers were slightly hurt.
   
"It appears the driver dozed off," a police official said.
   
The lives of the three seriously injured were in danger, local officials said.
   
Both French and Belgian firefighters responded to the accident. Three rescue helicopters were also dispatched to the scene.
   
Two of the seriously injured passengers trapped in the bus had to be removed through the windows, an AFP photographer reported.
   
The uninjured passengers were taken to the municipal hall in the French town of Crespin.
   
The accident disrupted Friday night traffic on the A2 but the autoroute was not completely closed off, police said.