Forgot the handbrake?

Slovakia: Three girls dead after serious bus accident

(Bild: facebook.com/KRPZPO)

A coach crashed into a group of people on the outskirts of a Catholic youth meeting in Slovakia. Three girls, who were hit and trapped by the vehicle, died.

Seven other people were seriously or critically injured in the accident in Spisske Podhradie in the east of the country. According to Slovakian media, the fatalities were aged 17 and 18.

Handbrake not applied?
It is not yet entirely clear why the vehicle started moving. The broadcaster TA3 TV reported that the handbrake was not engaged. According to media reports, the group had only just got off the bus at the time of the accident. An alcohol test on the driver was negative, reported Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok, who had rushed to the scene of the accident. The man was in shock and therefore could not yet be questioned.

He was at a loss for words, said the minister: "Three young lives have been snuffed out here, the lives of three young girls who were on their way to a Catholic gathering to celebrate - and it ended so tragically."

Youth meeting was canceled
The young people were due to take part in a diocesan youth meeting in Spisske Podhradie, almost 300 kilometers north-east of the capital Bratislava. The rest of the event's program was cancelled and a call for silent prayer for the victims was issued. The Spisske Kapitula district is home to the Cathedral of St. Martin of the Spiš diocese. Slovakia, with a population of almost 5.5 million, is strongly Catholic.