A bus carrying Polish tourists has crashed near Berlin killing at least 12 people and injuring dozens of others. According to police, the accident happened on a motorway just to the south-east of the city. The bus was carrying 49 Poles returning home from a Spanish holiday. According to president of police in Frankfurt an der Oder, Arne Feuring, it is believed that the bus collided with a car merging with highway traffic before hitting the pylon of an overpass.

The driver of the car has been confirmed as one of those who suffered injuries. Feuring said seven of those who have been taken to hospital are suffering from severe injuries and 27 others have injuries which are not life-threatening.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has spoken to Donald Tusk, the Polish prime minister, and expressed her sympathies. She has also assured him that medical staff would be doing everything within their power to treat those who have been wounded.

Mr Tusk and Polish health minister, Ewa Kopacz have been to the crash site and to the various Berlin hospitals where the injured are currently being treated. Guido Westerwelle, Germany’s foreign minister, said the country offered its sympathies and thoughts to the families and friends of those who had been involved in the accident. He added that the crash affected not just the Poles, but everyone.

An investigation into the incident is currently under way and the German authorities have set up a point of information in Berlin for relatives of the victims in Poland.