Nine Dead in Albanian Bus Crash

VOA Breaking News (Voice of America)
November 9, 2010 at 11:15 am

Authorities in southern Albania say a bus plunged off a sharp cliff in a rainstorm Monday, killing nine passengers and injuring more than 30 others.

The passengers were headed from Tirana to Athens, Greece.

Survivors say the Greek driver was talking on a cell phone and driving erratically when the vehicle left the road and plummeted 90 meters into a ravine near Ziaj, about 150 kilometers south of Tirana.

Albanian police said two of the passengers were sent to a hospital in the nearby Greek border town of Ioannina to get specialized treatment.

The driver survived and is being treated for his injuries.

Albania’s interior minister, Lulzim Basha has headed to the scene and plans to join the investigation.

Some information in this story was provided by AP and AFP.