British coach crashes in Belgium, 4 hurt

Brussels, June 10: A British coach carrying holiday-makers crashed into a house in Belgium today, seriously injuring four people onboard, police said.

''There are four people seriously injured. They're not in a life-threatening condition, although one could lose an arm,'' a spokesman from Middelkerke police said, adding a further 10 to 15 people were lightly injured.

The crash took place near the village of Slijpe, 10 kilometres (6 miles) southwest of the coastal town of Ostend.

The police spokesman from nearby Middelkerke said the coach had struck a house as it tried to avoid an oncoming car. The seriously injured were the co-driver and three passengers. The passengers were pensioners from Kent in southeast England, he said.

Leger Holidays, the company running the coach tour, said the coach, carrying 35 passengers and 2 crew, was returning to Britain after a 9-day tour of Prague, Vienna and Budapest.

The car's driver and passenger and two people in the house were among those lightly injured, most of whom were treated on the spot.

The seriously injured were taken to nearby hospitals.

Britain's Foreign Office in London said it was aware of the accident and consular officials were heading to the scene.

Reuters>