French Alps coach crash: Ski instructor, 19, among three Britons still critically ill following fireball smash
French Alps coach crash: Ski instructor, 19, among three Britons still critically ill following fireball smash
Catrin Pugh, 19, from Wrexham, was one of those seriously hurt in the horrific smash, which killed the British driver and forced other to leap for their lives
Ski lover: Catrin Pugh was seriously injured in the smash
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Three Britons are still critically ill in hospital after their coach careered out of control before crashing in flames on a treacherous Alpine road.Ski instructor Catrin Pugh, 19, was one of those seriously hurt in the horrific smash, which killed the British driver and forced other to leap for their lives.Catrin, from Wrexham, has been placed in an artificial coma in a specialist burns unit after suffering serious injuries.Her father is currently travelling to France to be at her bedside.Driver Maurice Wrightson was hailed a hero for steering the coach into a mountain when the brakes failed.
Fireball: Bus in flames after smash
Phoyopqr / Le Dauphine Libere / Jonathan Gaillard
Horror blaze: The bus on fire
Phoyopqr / Le Dauphine Libere / Jonathan Gaillard
The 63-year-old bravely wrestled with the wheel of his vehicle as it careered out of control down a notorious hairpin bend on the steep descent from the French skiing resort of Alpe d’Huez.The coach could have crashed into the steep ravines killing everyone.But by shouting warnings and steering the stricken vehicle into a cliff-face to bring it to a halt, Maurice sacrificed his own life to save all 53 on board, including two fellow drivers.Miraculously most of those on board, all ski resort workers thought to be aged 20 to 30, escaped with relatively minor injuries in the fireball crash that left the coach a charred wreck.Some were catapulted clear, others were cut free by rescuers.
Critical: Catrin, 19, is in a medically induced coma
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Home: The teenager, from Wrexham, was on her way back from ski season in Alpe d'Huez
Facebook Witnesses told how some passengers hurled themselves from the moving vehicle just moments before it ploughed into a cliff wall and burst into flames.One witness who was driving behind the bus said: “It appears that something was very wrong with the coach, and people on board knew about it.“Some tried to get out quickly, before the crash, but of course for most of them it was far too late. ”The four seriously hurt – including one girl who is thought to have 80% burns – were airlifted to Grenoble Hospital.
Catrin Pugh, 19, from Wrexham, was one of those seriously hurt in the horrific smash, which killed the British driver and forced other to leap for their lives
Ski lover: Catrin Pugh was seriously injured in the smash Three Britons are still critically ill in hospital after their coach careered out of control before crashing in flames on a treacherous Alpine road.Ski instructor Catrin Pugh, 19, was one of those seriously hurt in the horrific smash, which killed the British driver and forced other to leap for their lives.Catrin, from Wrexham, has been placed in an artificial coma in a specialist burns unit after suffering serious injuries.Her father is currently travelling to France to be at her bedside.Driver Maurice Wrightson was hailed a hero for steering the coach into a mountain when the brakes failed.
Fireball: Bus in flames after smash Phoyopqr / Le Dauphine Libere / Jonathan Gaillard
Horror blaze: The bus on fire Phoyopqr / Le Dauphine Libere / Jonathan Gaillard
The 63-year-old bravely wrestled with the wheel of his vehicle as it careered out of control down a notorious hairpin bend on the steep descent from the French skiing resort of Alpe d’Huez.The coach could have crashed into the steep ravines killing everyone.But by shouting warnings and steering the stricken vehicle into a cliff-face to bring it to a halt, Maurice sacrificed his own life to save all 53 on board, including two fellow drivers.Miraculously most of those on board, all ski resort workers thought to be aged 20 to 30, escaped with relatively minor injuries in the fireball crash that left the coach a charred wreck.Some were catapulted clear, others were cut free by rescuers.
Critical: Catrin, 19, is in a medically induced coma Home: The teenager, from Wrexham, was on her way back from ski season in Alpe d'Huez Facebook Witnesses told how some passengers hurled themselves from the moving vehicle just moments before it ploughed into a cliff wall and burst into flames.One witness who was driving behind the bus said: “It appears that something was very wrong with the coach, and people on board knew about it.“Some tried to get out quickly, before the crash, but of course for most of them it was far too late. ”The four seriously hurt – including one girl who is thought to have 80% burns – were airlifted to Grenoble Hospital.