MESINGES, France (June 4, 2008) — In the most serious bus crash in over 25 years, seven students died when their school bus was struck by a train at a crossing in a small town near the French Alps.

According to an eye witness to the crash, the bus driver moved onto the level crossing as the barriers were closing, despite the fact that the red warning lights were already lit. The bus was carrying 50 students and six adults back from a history field trip to the medieval village of Yvoire, located near the Swiss border.

SNCF, France’s national train operator, and rail network operator RFF have said they will each launch investigations to determine the causes of the collision. The crash was the deadliest school bus accident since 53 died after a train-bus accident in 1982 in the town of Beaune.