All victims have received necessary assistance, including food and temporary shelter.
Diplomats and consuls from the Embassy, led by the Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Ukraine to France, Vadym Omelchenko, visited the tragic scene of the Ukrainian bus accident in the Sarthe department, where many Ukrainian citizens, including teenagers, were affected. This was reported by the Embassy of Ukraine in France.
The students were returning home to Bukovina after an exchange program with the agricultural college La Touche in Brittany. On their way to Paris, the bus veered off the road for unknown reasons.
The Embassy expressed gratitude to French partners for the rapid mobilization of all emergency services, rescuers, and medical personnel who quickly arrived at the scene and assisted the victims.
Along with Ambassador Omelchenko at the site were the French Minister of Labor Astrid Panosyan-Bouve, the prefect of Sarthe Emmanuel Aubry, and local officials. The situation remains under the close attention of the French President Emmanuel Macron’s office, with a crisis center from the French Foreign Ministry and local authorities involved.
According to available information, four adults died, three of whom were Ukrainian citizens. We express our heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones of the deceased. Two individuals are in critical condition, and French doctors are fighting for their lives. The remaining children suffered moderate or minor injuries, and all are receiving necessary medical care.
The Embassy team met with the affected Ukrainian students. All victims received support, food, and temporary shelter. Ukrainian associations in France were also involved in providing assistance and promptly arrived at the scene to care for our citizens.
“The children are, of course, stressed, but they are united and holding strong because they are true Ukrainians. They are most worried about their injured friends,” shared Ambassador Vadym Omelchenko. “We also visited those hospitalized in the hospital of Le Mans. A team of doctors is caring for each one according to their condition. We spoke with everyone we were allowed to meet by the medical staff and helped establish contact with their parents. Their recovery is the most important thing right now, followed by their return home.”
As the teenagers themselves explained, the group was returning to Ukraine but had planned a stop in Paris, as seeing the French capital was a dream for many.
The Embassy remains in constant contact with French services and provides administrative and consular assistance to Ukrainian citizens.
It’s worth noting that the bus carrying adults and teenagers from Ukraine overturned on the A81 motorway on June 13 at 11:58 AM, near the town of Dégré, between the Sillé-le-Guillaume and Le Mans Nord junctions.
According to preliminary data, in addition to the four deceased and 11 seriously injured, 34 people sustained minor injuries.
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, more than 50 emergency teams were activated in France to urgently transport children to hospitals.
