Three Britons remain critically ill in hospital tonight after the coach they were travelling on crashed and exploded in a fireball in the French Alps.
Catrin Pugh, 19, is believed to have been placed in an artificial coma after the horrific accident on Tuesday afternoon.
Ms Pugh was set to return to the UK after working the ski season in France and was joined by 52 other British season staff on their way home at the time of the crash.
Her father was today set to arrive in France from the family's home in Wrexham to be at her bedside.
A second British woman, aged 23, suffered 80 per cent burns when the vehicle ploughed into the mountainside shortly after leaving the ski resort of Alpe D’Huez.
Medics in Grenoble are also treating a man but details of his injuries are unknown.
A fourth person was discharged from hospital yesterday and has been repatriated to the UK.
Fresh details of the crash, which claimed the life of driver Maurice Wrightson, 64, began to emerge as survivors painted scenes of desperate panic.
Matthew Beauchamp, 19, described leaping from the coach as it turned into an inferno and then being airlifted to hospital. He needed 20 stitches to his hand and 14 to his ankle.
'I'm lucky', he told The Evening Standard. 'I could have been injured a lot worse. For everyone to get out alive except for the driver is amazing.
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Matthew, from Downend, Bristol, was returning from six months working in a hotel in the Alps during the ski season.
'The first ten minutes after the crash were the worst because of not knowing who was accounted for. Everyone was looking around in panic to see who got out.'
His father David, 49, said: 'He told me that the coach driver was shouting out that the brakes had failed, giving them time to brace themselves.
Season worker: Catrin, from Wrexham, north Wales, is pictured during her time at the French ski resort
'Matthew said the driver almost stood up to make sure that everyone on the coach had heard, and that he definitely took the decision to crash into the rock to avoid the coach crashing through the barrier on the next hairpin bend.
'Flames immediately took hold on impact, Matthew was lucky that he was near the back.'.
Yesterday, the relief driver and passengers gave statements to police before boarding a specially-chartered plane from Grenoble-Isère airport to London Gatwick.
The coach crashed shortly after it departed from the ski resort of Alpe D’Huez on Tuesday afternoon.
The doomed driver, Maurice Wrightson, 64, has been praised for his 'remarkable courage' after sacrificing himself to save his 52 passengers.
Many of the survivors say he tried to steer the vehicle, weighing 12 tonnes and towing a weight of three tonnes, to safety after shouting that his brakes had failed.
A crane hoists the frame of the bus which crashed and burned on the road from l'Alpe d'Huez in the French Alps.The driver was killed, and three people were severely injured
It has been revealed the doomed driver of the coach which crashed in the French Alps tried desperately to warn his 50 passengers there was a problem moments before the horror smash
He managed to stop the bus from plunging into a ravine, instead crashing into the side of cliff, killing himself as the fuel tank at the front of the bus exploded and flames tore through the vehicle.
Most of the passengers managed to escape via the right rear door.
Student Fred Brickell, 18, was the youngest passenger on the doomed coach, sitting just six seats behind the driver at the time of impact.
He managed to scramble to the back as it crashed and escape through the back window.
Survivor: Matthew Beauchamp, 19, injured his hand when he escaped the burning coach
His father Clive, from Ringmer, East Sussex, said: 'He would want to thank the driver who steered the bus.
'His thoughts would also be with his friends who were injured.'
Mr Brickell said his son's possessions, including shoes and mobile phone, perished as the bus burnt out.
Fred and other survivors were flown back to England on a chartered flight to Gatwick.
Frédéric Cuvillier, minister of transport, stressed 'the remarkable courage of the driver'.
He said: 'You can’t call it a miracle because there is one dead and many wounded. But the human toll could have been much heavier.
'The driver’s courage saved many lives. All the testimonies of the people we have met have confirmed this. His attitude and his actions prevented an even worse situation.”
The charred remains of the bus are being examined in Vizille.
There were no apparent problems with the vehicle until the straight stretch of road before bend 21 – the last hairpin bend of the mountain road.
The investigating magistrate in Grenoble said brake failure was the main line of investigation.
Jean-Yves Coquillat said: 'It's probably a matter of braking. Now the question is why and the investigation will be long. It will take many months.
'There will be expert and technical accidents are always complicated.'
Mr Wrightson's employers at UK coach operator TGM also praised his actions.
Heath Williams, managing director of TGM, said: 'We are deeply saddened to learn that one of our two drivers on board has died.
'We are offering our full support to his family and our thoughts are with them at this difficult time. He will be sadly missed by everyone at Classic Coaches.
'A number of passengers have sustained injuries and our thoughts are with them as they recover
'Early indications are that our driver tried to take evasive action and that he alerted passengers. We pay tribute to him for his efforts, and also to our relief driver who helped people to leave the vehicle.'
The accident happened in the Alpe d'Huez ski resort - three passengers are understood to be in a serious condition, while 17 suffered minor injuries
Burnt out: The 51 passengers are understood to be travelling back to the UK after working a ski season for Brighton-based company Skibound which organises trips for schools
He said: 'It is too early to say what caused the accident, however, we have launched a full investigation and are working closely with the local authorities. Our own safety specialist is attending the scene to support the investigation.'
The accident happened at the foot of the notorious, twisting descent from the ski resort of Alpe D’Huez.
The bus had left Dover on Monday with two drivers, one of whom was Mr Wrightson.
They arrived in the ski resort of Serre-Chevalier that evening. The following morning 25 passengers, employees of British tour operator SkiBound, boarded the coach and headed to Alpe D’Huez.
A further 26 passengers boarded the coach and Mr Wrightson, who was now the designated driver, pulled out of Alpe D’Huez at 2pm.
London, Birmingham, Manchester and, finally, Newcastle had been the intended stops.
Holiday attraction: Alpe d'Huez is a ski resort particularly popular with Britons