Nine British teenagers have been hurt in a head-on crash between a bus and a car in south-west Germany that also left the two drivers with serious injuries, local emergency services have said.

A 90-year-old man lost control of his car and hit the double-decker bus, which was carrying 73 students aged 13-15, six adult supervisors and two drivers, a spokeswoman for the Tuttlingen police force said. The teenagers had minor injuries.

The Vöhrenbach volunteer fire service said it helped free the driver of the car and he was airlifted to hospital. The service said: “A large contingent of rescue workers took care of the occupants of the two vehicles hand in hand.”



Police said those students who were not physically hurt in the crash, which happened at 9.15am local time, were in shock and had been taken to a hall in the nearby town of Vöhrenbach for supervision. The injured were taken to a local hospital.

Images of the collision released by the service showed damage to the front left side of the bus and extensive damage to the front of the car.

The group was on a trip to the Black Forest and was on its way from Titisee to Triberg, according to police.

The incident is under investigation and police said it was not immediately clear what caused the man to veer into oncoming traffic.