President Lech Kaczynski has declared a period of national mourning following the fatal bus crash in France yesterday.
A group of Polish pilgrims had been visiting a number of sacred sites in France near Grenoble when disaster struck. Having left the Sanctuary of Notre-Dame-De-La-Salette, the breaks on the group's bus appeared to fail as the vehicle passed through the Alpine village of Vizille.
Unable to control the bus, the driver skidded for some one hundred yards before the vehicle left the road and careered down a riverbank.
Villagers struggled to free passengers before the bus was engulfed in flames. Some 26 people have died, and several more are in critical condition. The majority of the group were from Szczecin, northern Poland, and they were between the age of 50 and 70. One of the survivors is a child who's father perished in the accident.
President Kaczynski flew to Grenoble yesterday where he joined his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy.
It is the worst Polish accident on foreign territory on living memory. President Kaczynski has announced three days of mourning, beginning Monday.
** The majority of concerts and other cultural events that were due to take place across Poland during the Monday to Wednesday period will be postponed.
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