Five dead after Polish bus crashes in Germany

Five people died on Tuesday night in an accident involving a Polish bus on the A1 motorway close to Oldenburg, north-west Germany, the Bremen based local website 'buten un binnen' reported.

The fatalities were a woman and four men, all aged between 27 and 50.

According to police, a minibus carrying Polish passengers and heading in the direction of Osnabrueck hit a truck on the road between Wildeshausen-Nord and Wildeshausen-West.

There were no signs of braking, said a spokesman for the local fire brigade. According to police, the truck was stuck at the end of a traffic jam with its hazard lights on.

According to the fire brigade, the van was completely destroyed by the force of the impact. Initially, only two people were visible inside the vehicle, the other three passengers were found only after firefighters forced the door open. All the fatalities were declared dead at the scene by the ambulance service doctor.

The truck driver did not require medical attention.

The accident was reported to the police shortly after midnight. The A1 motorway was blocked in the direction of Osnabrueck. The blockade was lifted in the morning, after the end of the rescue operation.

Poland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MSZ) has said that "consular services are in constant contact with the local services. The Consul General of the Republic of Poland in Hamburg is on his way to the scene of the accident."

MSZ has as yet not provided detailed information on the identity of those who died in the crash.