At least nine dead, dozens hurt in bus crash in Germany

BERLIN - At least nine people were killed and 43 hurt on Saturday, police said, as a coach carrying Polish holidaymakers collided with another Polish minibus near the eastern German city of Dresden.

The crash happened in the early hours of Saturday morning on the A4 motorway that links Poland and Germany.

There were deaths in both the double-decker coach and the smaller minibus and there were several serious injuries, according to German authorities.

German police have already identified six of the nine dead as Polish nationals. The 43 injured were rushed to nearby hospitals.

According to early indications, the Polish coach crashed into a Ukrainian coach in front of it, skidding across the motorway and then collided with the Polish minibus, which was travelling in the other direction.

Police blocked the motorway in both directions but could not say how long the rescue and clean-up operation was likely to take.

According to Polish travel company Sindbad, which operates the coach, there were 65 passengers on board and three crew. The majority were Polish.