Skibound staff fly home after Alps coach crash
The 49 Skibound staff who survived a coach crash in the Alps flew back to Britain yesterday and were met at the airport by their families and some of the operator’s senior managers.
But three staff remain in hospitals in Grenoble and Lyon, one of them in a critical condition. Their families are now with them and are being helped by Skibound managers and the British Consulate.
A safety expert from the Brighton-based operator has also flown to France to help with the investigation into the cause of the crash.
There have been reports that police suspect there was a problem with the coach’s brakes, but this has not been confirmed.
The British coach driver who was killed has been praised for his bravery.
French transport minister Frederic Cuvillier, who visited the scene near Alpe d’Huez, said Maurice Wrightson had displayed "remarkable courage" and said his actions had helped save the lives of passengers.
He said the 64-year-old had let the coach hit rocks to slow it down rather than risk it going over the edge of a ravine, which would have led to more injuries.
The coach had been picking up staff who worked in Skibound hotels in various resorts across the Alps to bring them back to the UK at the end of the season.
Some of the survivors had escaped from the burning wreckage by jumping from the windows.
The vehicle had been hired by Skibound from County Durham-based Classic Coaches, a company it had used for 20 years.
by Bev Fearis
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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