A bus carrying German senior citizens on vacation crashed into a truck today on a highway in Bavaria and burst into flames, killing 18 people and injuring 30 others, some seriously, officials said.
The accident took place around 7 am when the bus rear-ended a trailer-truck at the end of a traffic jam on the A9 highway near Muenchberg, not far from the Czech border. The accident led to long traffic jams on the A9, the main thoroughfare from Berlin to Munich.
It was not immediately clear what caused the crash, but prosecutors have opened an investigation. The bus seemed to have caught fire immediately upon impact with the truck, Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt told reporters after touring the crash site. The truck’s trailer also burst into flames.