France coach crash: Body of three-year-old boy 'found in front of lorry' involved in head-on collision - as it happened
President Francois Hollande said the government was fully mobilised after the 'terrible tragedy'
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Your support makes all the difference.At least 43 people have died in a crash involving a bus and a lorry near the French city of Bordeaux. Here are the latest updates:
- The youngest victim is believed to be of the lorry driver's son
- Both vehicles burst into flames after the collision
- The coach was carrying pensioners on a day trip from a club in the town of Petit-Palais
- Manuel Valls: 'France is in mourning'
- President Francois Hollande called it a 'terrible tragedy'
- It is the worst road accident in France since 1982
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Local media reported that the vehicles were travelling along a narrow road in Puisseguin, near Libourne, when they collided and burst into flames at around 7.30am local time (6.30am BST).
The coach involved was full of pensioners on a group outing and the emergency services said eight people managed to escape with injuries, the Sud Ouest newspaper reported.
More than 50 firefighters were tackling the blaze as the emergency services responded to the disaster.
Speaking from Greece, President François Hollande said the French government was “fully mobilised” in the face of the “terrible tragedy”.
He sent his interior minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, to the scene. Prime Minister Manuel Valls also visited alongside the transport secretary, Alain Vidalies.
The crash is believed to be the worst road accident in France for more than 30 years, since 53 people, including 44 children, died in another bus crash in 1982.
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