23 dead in icy road crash
2004-03-19 09:26
Helsinki - A passenger bus and truck collided on icy roads in central Finland early on Friday killing at least 23 people and injuring 15, some of them quite seriously, police said.
"A bus coming from Helsinki with tourists heading for Lapland has crashed with a big truck, and at the moment we have 23 dead, and 15 or 16 that are injured," said a constable with the police in Aeaeneskoski.
Some of the injured, who have been taken to a nearby regional hospital in the city of Jyvaeskylae, are in serious condition, he added.
Most of the 40 passengers were young people from the capital Helsinki, on their way to the northern province of Lapland for a skiing holiday, Constable Puranen said.
The accident happened around 01:00 GMT 20km north of the town of Aeaenekoski in central Finland, 300km north of Helsinki, when the truck's trailer suddenly skidded out and smashed into the oncoming bus.
"It seems that the truck was sliding, because the road was very icy and slippery, and the truck came on to the wrong side of the road and hit the bus," Puranen said.
The truck was heavily loaded with large rolls of paper, he added.