California crash claims 10

2008-10-06 09:36

California - A charter bus carrying passengers en route to a casino overturned in northern California on Sunday, killing 10 people and injuring several others.

California Highway Patrol officials said the crash happened around 18:10 on a rural road near the town of Williams, about 100km north of Sacramento, as the bus headed to Colusa Casino Resort from Sacramento.

California Highway Patrol Commander Fran Clader said on Sunday night that 10 people were dead and estimated that 20 to 30 others were injured.

CHP dispatcher Terry Troth said the bus ran off the road and rolled over. No other vehicles appeared to be involved in the crash, he said.

Troth did not know the extent of the injuries, but he said the victims were being transported to several area hospitals.

Troth said emergency responders were having trouble communicating with the passengers because many of them were of Laotian descent.

Firefighters used flashlights to search the tall grass near the overturned bus, which lay in a ditch, for more possible bodies. The bus, which was covered in mud, had a crumpled roof and broken windows.

Laura Hennum, a spokesperson at Enloe Medical Centre, told The Sacramento Bee newspaper that four patients in critical condition and two with serious injuries had been admitted.

- AP