Deadly Bus Accident in the Pyrenees: Excursion Organizer Under Investigation

Spanish media have pointed to the organizer of the trip from Barcelona to Andorra, which tragically ended on Sunday, December 1, in the Pyrénées-Orientales. The bus, which collided with a cliff, reportedly had an outdated technical inspection.

Three days after the tragedy, the investigation continues to determine the circumstances of the fatal accident involving a Spanish bus in Porté-Puymorens. The accident claimed the lives of two passengers and left ten others in critical condition.

On December 4, the public prosecutor of Marseille took over the case after the Perpignan public prosecutor’s office withdrew. An investigation for “involuntary manslaughter due to deliberate violation of a specific obligation of caution or safety” has been opened, as announced by Nicolas Bessone in a statement.

Technical Inspection Not Up to Date

Spanish media are focusing on the role of the trip organizer, Chavi Tours, and the owner of the crashed bus, Hispa Travi. According to the Catalan newspaper Ara, citing government sources, the vehicle had not undergone a technical inspection since October 2023, even though it is required to be inspected every six months. If this information is confirmed by investigators, it could strengthen the hypothesis of a technical failure.

One passenger reported seeing the driver try to brake and change gears unsuccessfully. Witnesses mentioned by the sub-prefect of Pyrénées-Orientales, Didier Carponcin, also noted “zigzags” on the road before the bus collided with the cliff.

Driver Still Hospitalized

The driver, whose testimony is crucial for the investigation, has not yet been questioned due to the severity of his injuries. “The driver suffers from a very severe chest compression; he is one of the critically injured,” Ludovic Julia, director of the Pyrénées-Orientales prefecture’s cabinet, told AFP.

A Four-Year-Old Among the Critically Injured

The provisional report from authorities, which has not changed since late Sunday night, states two deaths and ten people injured in critical condition, including a four-year-old child, along with 35 others with minor injuries.

“Several injured individuals, including the Spanish driver, are still hospitalized in France and Spain,” the Marseille public prosecutor’s office stated. Most of the injured were taken to the Puigcerda cross-border hospital, located about 20 kilometers from the accident site, while some were transferred to hospitals in Toulouse, Perpignan, or Foix.

Among the 48 bus passengers, “the vast majority are Colombians residing in Spain, with one Spaniard, one Moroccan, and one Ecuadorian,” Ludovic Julia clarified to AFP.

The group had departed on Sunday morning from Barcelona for an excursion to Pas de la Case in Andorra, known for its duty-free shops, and was returning when the accident occurred in the afternoon. For reasons still unknown, the vehicle veered off its lane and collided violently with a cliff.