1 killed, 39 injured in highway crash in France

Two dozen vehicles collided in a massive highway pileup on Sunday in eastern France, killing one person and injuring 39 others, officials said.

A tourist bus carrying 36 retired Britons was among those vehicles involved in the crash, but no one onboard was injured, police spokesman Jean-Francois Cortot said.

Heavy fog mixed with smoke from a fire in a barn near the highway appeared to have reduced visibility for drivers before the collision, Cortot said.

The regional government said a 70-year-old Frenchman was killed and the injured were taken to nearby hospitals after the collision between the towns of Metz and Boulay. Eight children were among the injured, who were mostly of French, British, Swiss, Belgian and Luxembourg origin.

More than 230 rescue workers and police rushed to the site of the pileup around 9:30 a.m. (0730GMT) on the A4 motorway.