German long-distance coach carrying 60 passengers crashes on autobahn

A coach carrying around 60 passengers has crashed on a motorway in western Germany, injuring more than 20 people.

The bus left the carriageway on the A44 motorway in the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and crashed onto its side.

According to a police spokesperson, the bus was carrying students from a vocational college in Warburg. They were on their way back from a trip to England.

The police initially said there were 21 slightly injured and one seriously injured person. Later, they revised the figure down to 20 slightly injured and one seriously injured person. Police said no one's life was in danger. The driver of the bus was reportedly uninjured.

The cause of the accident near the town of Werl, 100 kilometres east of Dusseldorf was still unclear. The police announced late on Thursday night that there were no other vehicles involved in the accident.

A 20 kilometre stretch of the A44 motorway was fully closed eastbound from the Unna Ost exit to Werl in the direction of Kassel. Fire brigade and a rescue helicopter had been deployed to the accident scene.

The accident happened just a day after four people were killed in a bus crash near Leipzig in eastern Germany.