Bus carrying Poles crashes in France, 26 killed

NOTRE-DAME-DE-MESAGE, France, July 22 (Reuters) Twenty-six Polish pilgrims died today when their coach careered down a hillside and burst into flames at the foot of a small village near the southeastern French city of Grenoble.

The coach smashed through a roadside barrier after apparently suffering braking problems as it descended the steep RN85 trunk road at a notorious accident blackspot, rescue officials said.

Most victims perished in the fire, said emergency officials, adding they would need help from forensic experts in Paris to identify the victims by their DNA.

Gendarme (police) Lieutenant-Colonel Thierry Rousseau told Reuters that of the 24 injured, 12 were in a critical condition and had been evacuated to hospital ''in an absolute emergency''.

''Witnesses spoke of a problem with the braking system, an unusual black smoke,'' he said. Local officials said the coach's speed may also have been a factor in the accident.

Television pictures showed several bodies laid out underneath white sheets on the grassy banks of the Romanche river, the coach still smouldering in the background as fire crews doused it with foam.

Rescue workers put survivors on drips, wrapped them in gold survival blankets and shielded them from the sun with parasols ahead of their evacuation.

Several helicopters and a fleet of emergency vehicles ferried the injured to hospital in Grenoble in an operation that mobilised 60 police as well as fire-fighters.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy sent a message of condolence to his Polish counterpart Lech Kaczynski and French Prime Minister Francois Fillon visited the scene.

The accident happened at the Laffrey gradient, a notorious accident blackspot where a Belgian coach crashed in July 1973, killing 43 people.

Polish television said the Polish pilgrims were from parishes in the Szczecin area of northwestern Poland, who were due to return home on Tuesday. The Polish Foreign Ministry has set up telephone hotlines for relatives.

The Poles had been attending a pilgrimage at the nearby Notre-Dame de la Salette sanctuary along with nationals from Belarus, Ukraine, France, Russia and Britain.

REUTERS RJ RN2044