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One bus was parked and picking up passengers on Avinguda Diagonal, one of Barcelona’s widest and most significant avenues, when the other smashed into it from behind, deputy mayor Albert Batlle told reporters at the scene of the accident.
“There are four critically injured, including a minor, and three less seriously injured. The rest have suffered less serious injuries for which they are being treated in various hospitals in Barcelona,” he added.
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One bus was carrying a group who arrived on a cruise ship and were visiting Barcelona’s iconic Sagrada Familia basilica while the other was transporting a group of Italian students staying in a nearby town, Batlle said.
The cause of the accident is under investigation.
It comes as Barcelona and much of Spain were lashed by rain and it snarled traffic in Barcelona on the opening day of the annual Mobile World Congress (MWC), the world’s largest wireless technology showcase which is set to draw around 100,000 attendees.
The four critically injured patients include a pedestrian who was in the area as well as a 17-year-old passenger of one of the buses, said Clara Canela, a spokeswoman for emergency services in the northeastern region of Catalonia.
A total of 19 ambulances and four teams of psychologists were dispatched to the scene.
Emergency services had initially said 34 people had been injured.
