Croatia bus crash kills eight Czech citizens

More than 40 other people were injured in the accident, in which the bus hit a crash barrier and turned over.
The crash happened on the Zagreb-Split motorway, about 230km (143 miles) south of the Croatian capital Zagreb, at around 02:00 GMT.
Injured passengers were taken to hospital in the town of Gospic; some of the most seriously hurt were taken by helicopter to Zagreb.
Agencies reported that the road was closed to traffic and motorists diverted on to local roads following the crash, and an investigation into its cause is now under way.

Croatia’s state TV said the bus crashed through metal barriers in the middle of the highway, and overturned in the opposite lane near a tunnel.
State TV quoted eyewitnesses as saying the bus started “swaying” moments before the crash, suggesting the driver apparently lost control after he fell asleep.
Photos from the scene showed the bus’s twisted metal remains on its side, with seven dead passengers — covered with white sheets — lying on the pavement. State TV said a child was among the dead and the eighth fatality was discovered in the wreckage.
Most of the injured passengers were hospitalized in the nearby town of Gospic, while three of the most seriously hurt, including two children, were flown to Zagreb by a helicopter.