Two people killed as bus crashes on way to Oktoberfest
The bus was traveling from Italy to Munich, carrying 33 Filipino tourists who wanted to visit the famous beer festival. One of the dozens injured remains in life-threatening condition.
On Sunday, a bus carrying Filipino tourists overturned in southern Germany, resulting in two fatalities and numerous injuries. The vehicle was en route to Munich for the Oktoberfest celebration. The bus originated from Milan, Italy, a city with a significant Filipino community. At the time of the crash, 33 tourists were onboard the bus.
German police reported that the accident occurred at 5:41 a.m. local time (03:41 a.m. GMT) when the bus veered off the A96 highway and flipped over. No other vehicles were involved in the crash. Among the injured, six individuals were airlifted to nearby hospitals, with one reported to be in a life-threatening condition. Two additional individuals were transported to the hospital via ambulance, while 22 others were initially treated at the scene and subsequently taken to the hospital.
One of the deceased has been identified as a 58-year-old Filipino citizen. The other fatality is yet to be determined. Two Italian bus drivers were onboard the vehicle but were not injured. The driver at the helm during the crash is currently under investigation for negligent homicide, a standard protocol in such cases. The cause of the accident remains under investigation, with a public prosecutor's office commissioning an expert report to establish the cause.
As of now, further details cannot be provided. Emergency services, including over 200 firefighters, medics, and police, responded to the scene. A section of the highway was closed for an extended period before traffic resumed in the afternoon. Bus accidents have been occurring with increasing frequency recently. In September, a Dutch coach crash in Switzerland claimed five lives, while a bus collision on Germany's A3 highway left 30 people injured.
Munich's Oktoberfest, the world's largest beer festival, is a two-week-long event attracting millions of visitors each year. This year's festival began on September 19 and is expected to conclude on October 4. By the halfway point, around 3.8 million people had already visited the festival, a notable increase of 300,000 compared to the same period last year.
Written by urgent.news from DW News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
