UPDATE Oct. 23, 6:10 a.m. EDT:
"A catastrophe, the word is not too strong," said Francois Hollande, the current French president.
"It was a bus carrying elderly people," Mael Gohaud, a spokesman for the Gironde Prefecture told CNN. "There are five people who are injured, and three people safe."
No children were reported among the 42 dead or five injured. The bus driver and the other survivors "escaped the flames," according to BFMTV.
--
Police say that at least 42 people have died in a traffic mishap which involved a bus and a truck in southwest France on Friday morning.
The two aforementioned vehicles were reported to have crashed head-on near Libourne, in the Gironde region, east of Bordeaux, BBC News reported.
It is being reported that only five people survived the bus and truck collision, according to France's Sud Ouest newspaper, Sky News reported.
An official with the national gendarme service, who was not sanctioned to be named publicly, said emergency workers in the region were quick to respond and lent help.
A French legislator confirmed that most of the victims were elderly people from southwest France who were heading out for a day trip. The bus and truck drivers are also believed to have died in the crash.
Gilles Savary said a bus company from Libourne was leading the group on a tourist trip. He added that the crash was "one of the worst crashes in recent years in the region," according to the Associated Press.
HNGN will keep you updated as soon as more information becomes available.
