Brit holidaymakers injured in Barcelona Airport crash as packed bus overturns on its way to the terminal
Seven British and two Irish tourists were among the 24 hurt in the coach crash
TWO British women told how they cheated death after a bus carrying mostly holidaymakers crashed on its way to Barcelona Airport.
Hospital worker Sharon Knevett, 51, from Chelmsford, Essex, suffered six broken ribs, a punctured lung, a broken shoulder and a broken collar after being trapped under the bus when it overturned on a ring road during heavy rain near the airport.
The bus was en route to El Prat Airport from the Costa Brava resort of Lloret de Mar, in Spain, when the accident happened just after 3am on Wednesday.
Ms Knevett is reported to be one of the two “seriously injured” casualties in hospital - the nationality of the other passenger is not known.
Seven British and two Irish tourists, aged between 18 and 67, were among the 24 hurt.
Sharon’s daughter Amber Stroud, 18, who suffered a neck injury and had a neck brace fitted after going to hospital, said: “I was right at the front and you could not see anything in the rain.
“The driver kept saying, ‘We must get to the airport.’
“We are lucky to be alive. It was terrifying. I think the crash was caused by the driver going too fast in heavy rain when you should be slowing down.”
Miss Stroud had spent a week’s holiday with her mum on the Costa Brava and was heading back to Barcelona Airport for a flight to Britain when the coach overturned.
Estate agent Molly Walsh, 22, from Chelsea, who was also on the crash vehicle, added: “The weather was terrible. The driver could not see out of the front window. He lost control.
“The coach swerved to one side and then hit the barrier and it turned over.
“I was stuck inside and my fiancee had to get me out. It was awful, really awful.”
An emergency services spokesman: “Three are serious. There were Irish, British, German, Polish, Lithuanian and Belarusian nationals on the bus.”
Amadeus Recasens, head of security for Barcelona town hall, said four Lithuanians, three Belarusians, two Germans, five Spaniards and a Polish national were also travelling on the bus.
Emergency coordinators said eight other people who remain in hospital are stable.
The most seriously injured passengers were trapped under the bus when it overturned and had to be freed by firefighters.
Fifteen sustained minor injuries, while six were said to be in moderate condition.
According to emergency services spokesman the driver was also hurt and was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
His coach firm are thought to told police investigators he wasn’t going too fast and are said to have passed them a tachograph reading to prove it.
Pictures from the crash scene have emerged showing the vehicle on its side on a grass verge by the road.
Heavy rain was initially blamed for the accident, which led to the closure of part of the ring road for more than two hours.
Seven ambulances ferried the injured, who included the coach driver, to hospital.
A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokeswoman said: "We are in contact with Spanish authorities following a coach crash in Barcelona and are ready to help any Britons involved."
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