Teenagers among 5 dead in Belgian bus crash

At least five people died and several were injured when a bus carrying Ukrainian and Russian teenagers crashed in northern Belgium, news media reported Sunday. Television stations RTL and RTBF said the Polish-registered bus was carrying around 40 Ukrainians and Russians aged between 15 and 17 years old. Three adolescents died as well as the driver and a chaperone, according to the latest toll released by Belgian media. Pictures showed the bus lying on its side below a bridge and then being righted by a crane. The accident occurred on a highway heading toward the major port city of Antwerp at around 6:30 am, police told the Belga news agency. Reports said no other vehicle was involved and the bus apparently swerved off the road through a guard rail and then ran down the embankment by the bridge. The immediate cause of the crash was unknown, with no signs the bus had braked sharply and an official investigation has been launched. The most seriously injured were evacuated to different hospitals in the region. The accident stirs painful memories of an accident a year ago when a bus carrying Belgian school children crashed in Switzerland, killing 22 and six adults accompanying them.