Two die in collision between coach and car transporter

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Two people were killed and seven injured in a collision on Monday afternoon between a Finnish coach and a Russian car transporter on Highway 7 in Pyhtää, Southeastern Finland.
      All the casualties were on the express coach of Pohjolan Liikenne, one of the largest ExpressBus operators in Finland, which was travelling from Kotka to Helsinki. The Russian car transporter, carrying new passenger cars, was heading for the eastern border.
      The injured were transported to the Kymenlaakso Central Hospital in Kotka. The injuries were not life-threatening, and all but one of the victims were to be released from the hospital later on the same evening.
     
The accident happened on a three-lane strtetch of the road, when the express bus was overtaking a truck, while simultaneously the oncoming car transporter started swerving for some reason, and its trailer hit the driver's side flank of the coach. As a result, the side of the bus was torn up. The bus remained upright and sideways in the middle of the road, while the car transporter left the road and went into a ditch, stopping only around 100 metres from the crash site.
      Six ambulances and five rescue service units as well as five police units were on the scene, in Pyhtää, about 20 kilometres west of Kotka. The road was closed for several hours.
     
Two passengers and the driver were trapped in the coach. Only the driver could be rescued alive. The Russian driver of the truck came through the crash with minor cuts and bruises.
      Some of the passengers were uninjured and could continue their journey to Helsinki by another express coach.
      The Kotka police investigating the accident were unable to determine on Monday why the car transporter suddenly started swerving.
      According to the police, neither of the drivers was affected by alcohol. Moreover, the tyres of the Russian truck appeared to be in good condition.
      According to Pohjolan Liikenne, the 38-year-old driver of the coach has nine years' experience as a bus driver.
     
The road conditions were normal for winter driving and the visibility was good at the accident site, reported District Fire Officer Juha Tiitinen of the Kymenlaakso Regional Rescue Service.
      Highway 7 was closed again today around noon, until the car transporter has been removed from the ditch.
      A commission of inquiry has been set up to determine the causes of the accident.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Konginkangas truck-driver to face charges of causing 23 deaths (8.12.2005)

Helsingin Sanomat