34 injured as roof ripped off tour bus in France

A tour bus has had its roof ripped off in a low tunnel in France, injuring 34 people.

Six of those people are said to have suffered serious injuries after the top of the bus was shorn off while trying to pass under a low bridge in La Madeleine, near Lille, northern France.

The 3.65m bus attempted to go under 2.6m-high tunnel, resulting in "chaos".

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Frederic Fevre, the public prosecutor in Lille, said the bus was from Spain and was servicing the Bilbao to Amsterdam route at the time of the incident.

The vehicle was carrying 58 passengers, mostly students aged between 18 and 29.

Speaking to ABC News, a passenger from Spain's Basque region called Carlota, said: "Most people were sleeping... [and] nobody understood what was happening."

Gesturing to just above her head, she added: "All of a sudden, the roof of the tunnel was right there."

Witnesses reported that passengers at the rear of the bus were more severely affected as the debris of the roof was pushed back.

The Daily Mail reports that the bus was operated by the Livingston travel agency, based in Bilbao, and was on its way to a six-day stay at a campsite in Amsterdam.

The driver of the bus, who has a good record, said he had followed instructions on his GPS, reports the Mirror.

Passengers who did not require treatment were being put up in a local sports centre, waiting to return to Spain.

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