A coach taking a group of elderly Germans on a holiday trip crashed on a high-speed motorway on Monday, killing 13 passengers and injuring 30, police said. The bus was on its way to the city of Dresden when it plunged down an embankment on the A14 motorway near the town of Koennern in eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt, dpa reported. Some 48 adults were on the coach, which began its journey in the western German town of Ibbenbueren. Helicopters and police helped evacuated the seriously injured to hospitals in the nearby cities of Magdeburg and Dessau while paramedics treated the lightly injured at the scene. The driver survived the crash and was being treated for shock. The owner of the bus company said a truck had run into the back of the vehicle, causing it to crash. Police were unable to confirm this. The motorway was blocked in both directions for hours after the accident, which occurred early afternoon. The victims were elderly members of a farmers' organization, which had organized a six-day outing for them to Dresden, a city famous for its architectural treasures. It was the worst coach accident in Germany since February 1996 when a bus carrying Dutch tourists overturned after skidding on an icy road in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
