3 days to recover 43 charred bodies of French bus crash
PARIS (AP) — Investigators examining the fiery crash site in southwest France where a truck and a bus collided say it will take three more days just to recover the charred bodies of the 43 victims.
Col. Patrick Touron of the Criminal Research Institute of the Gendarmerie joined other investigators Saturday on a winding road near the village of Puisseguin, near Bordeaux.
Touron said the cause of Friday's crash remains unknown, because the truck's black box is too damaged for data to be immediately recovered.
A forensic expert inspects the charred wreckage of a bus involved in a fatal crash which killed over 40 people near the village of Puisseguin, southwestern France, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2015. A truck and a bus transporting retirees on a day trip collided and caught fire Friday on a country road in wine country in southwest France, killing 42 people and gravely injuring at least four others, authorities said. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
French President Francois Hollande will lead a ceremony in Paris on Tuesday to honor the victims.
The crash killed 41 bus passengers, most of them local retirees on a day trip, the truck driver and his 3-year-old son. Four other people were badly injured.
Forensic experts inspect the charred wreckage of a truck and a bus involved in a fatal crash which killed over 40 people near the village of Puisseguin, southwestern France, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2015. A truck and a bus transporting retirees on a day trip collided and caught fire Friday on a country road in wine country in southwest France, killing 42 people and gravely injuring at least four others, authorities said. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
In this aerial photo, French forensic experts work after a truck and a bus transporting retirees on a day trip collided and caught fire Friday, killing 42 people and badly injuring four others, near the village of Puisseguin, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) east of Bordeaux, France, Saturday Oct. 24, 2015. Eight people, including the driver, escaped from the bus, in the nation¿s deadliest road accident in more than 30 years. (AP Photo/Bob Edme)
In this aerial photo, French forensic experts work after a truck and a bus transporting retirees on a day trip collided and caught fire Friday, killing 42 people and badly injuring four others, near the village of Puisseguin, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) east of Bordeaux, France, Saturday Oct. 24, 2015. Eight people, including the driver, escaped from the bus, in the nation¿s deadliest road accident in more than 30 years. (AP Photo/Bob Edme)
In this aerial photo, French forensic experts work after a truck and a bus transporting retirees on a day trip collided and caught fire Friday, killing 42 people and badly injuring four others, near the village of Puisseguin, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) east of Bordeaux, France, Saturday Oct. 24, 2015. Eight people, including the driver, escaped from the bus, in the nation¿s deadliest road accident in more than 30 years. (AP Photo/Bob Edme)
In this aerial photo, French forensic experts work after a truck and a bus transporting retirees on a day trip collided and caught fire Friday, killing 42 people and badly injuring four others, near the village of Puisseguin, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) east of Bordeaux, France, Saturday Oct. 24, 2015. Eight people, including the driver, escaped from the bus, in the nation¿s deadliest road accident in more than 30 years. (AP Photo/Bob Edme)
Flowers and candles are placed in a church in memory of the victims the day after a fatal crash which killed over 40 people, in Petit Palais, southwestern France, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2015. A truck and a bus transporting retirees on a day trip collided and caught fire Friday on a country road in wine country in southwest France, killing 42 people and gravely injuring at least four others, authorities said. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
A woman lights a candle in a church in memory of the victims the day after a fatal crash which killed over 40 people, in Petit Palais, southwestern France, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2015. A truck and a bus transporting retirees on a day trip collided and caught fire Friday on a country road in wine country in southwest France, killing 42 people and gravely injuring at least four others, authorities said. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
People pay respect to the victims the day after a fatal crash which killed over 40 people, in the church of Petit Palais, southwestern France, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2015. A truck and a bus transporting retirees on a day trip collided and caught fire Friday on a country road in wine country in southwest France, killing 42 people and gravely injuring at least four others, authorities said. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
A french forensic expert speaks to journalists in Puisseguin, southwestern France, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2015. A truck and a bus transporting retirees on a day trip collided and caught fire Friday on a country road in wine country in southwest France, killing over 40 people and gravely injuring at least four others, authorities said. (AP Photo Bob Edme)
