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German police say 18 people dead after bus crashes and bursts into flames

Rescue workers stand beside burnt-out coach on the motorway A9 near Muenchberg, southeastern Germany Picture: AP
Rescue workers stand beside burnt-out coach on the motorway A9 near Muenchberg, southeastern Germany Picture: AP Rescue workers stand beside burnt-out coach on the motorway A9 near Muenchberg, southeastern Germany Picture: AP

German police believe 18 people have died after a bus carrying a pensioners' tour group crashed into a truck and burst into flames.

Officers said 30 others were injured, some seriously, and were taken to hospital for treatment after the crash in Bavaria.

The other people on board "are believed to have died on the burning bus".

Police spokeswoman Irene Brandenstein said the bus was carrying a German senior citizens' tour group.

Forensic specialists are being brought in from Germany's federal police office to remove and identify the bodies from the charred vehicle.

Ms Brandenstein said the work was complex and labour intensive, given how badly damaged the bus was.

The accident took place around 7am (6am Irish time) when the bus collided with a truck at the end of a traffic jam on the A9 highway near Muenchberg in Bavaria, not far from the Czech border.

The highway remained closed on both sides for hours and police tweeted later that the road leading south would be shut for the entire day.

Firefighters and ambulance staff were quickly on the scene to rescue the injured.

Two drivers and 46 passengers were on board the bus, Ms Brandenstein said.

By the time firefighters arrived and extinguished the flames, the bus was reduced to a charred frame.

Police said the group on the bus came from Saxony in eastern Germany and that no children were on board. The German news agency dpa reported that all the passengers were German citizens.

A phone number has been set up to provide family members with information.

Ms Brandenstein had no immediate information on the condition of the truck driver.

The accident led to long traffic jams on the A9, the main thoroughfare from Berlin to Munich.