A total of ten people, including one person who was trapped, were taken to hospital by ambulance after the accident just before 9 am on Saturday morning when a bus overturned from the E45 and ended up in a ditch by the motorway.
Another 26 people suffered minor injuries without the need for an ambulance. They were taken to a nearby hospital.
No one is life-threateningly injured, but there are serious injuries, says Anna Mattsson, chief of staff at Lycksele Hospital, to TV4 Nyheterna.
A single accident
Mattsson tells TV4 that there were two buses in a group, one of which went into the ditch. No other vehicles were involved. According to Yle, traffic was closed for a few hours but opened for traffic at 12:30 Swedish time.
According to TV4, the bus was on its way to Arvidsjaur from Norway. The bus is chartered by the Finnish company Saaga Travel, which organizes trips in northern Finland, Sweden and Norway.
The university newspaper reports that the buses were in turn rented to the student organization Erasmus Student Network (ESN) at the Technical University of Norway (NTNU). The bus was carrying exchange students from several countries, according to Viktoria Hov Jensen, event manager at ESN.
Pekka Kimpimäki, business manager at the company, tells Yle that he does not know who traveled on the bus.
No children
The number of passengers on board has varied, but according to the emergency services, there were 65 passengers and a driver. The bus overturned in the crash and is lying on its side in the ditch.
The police tell SVT Västerbotten that there were no children on board.
Lycksele Hospital has gone into disaster mode and Norrland University Hospital into reinforcement mode to be ready to receive injured people.
Stay in place
The rescue service tells P4 Västerbotten that it was slippery at the scene and that the accident appears to have occurred on a curve.
Minister of Infrastructure and Housing Andreas Carlson (KD) writes on X that the government is in close contact with the relevant authorities.
The incident is being investigated as traffic negligence, but there was no suspect as of Saturday afternoon.
Sofia Hedberg/TT
Anna Hansson/TT
David Hjorter/TT
Facts: Three states of emergency in healthcare.
TT
Disaster: The highest level of preparedness that an organization can be placed in. Special healthcare management reinforces all important functions. All operations at the hospital are involved.
Reinforcement mode: The second highest mode. Special healthcare management reinforces important functions and support functions. Care places are freed up, staffing is increased and planned activities are suspended.
Staff status: The lowest level of preparedness. A special medical management team is kept informed and follows the development of events. Necessary measures are taken.
Source: Västerbotten Region
