A 12-year-old Israeli girl died when a driverless bus rolled down a slope at a ski station in France’s eastern Savoie region overnight, local authorities said on Saturday.

Fourteen other Israeli tourists were on the bus in the town of Belleville and had just left their hotel to go to the airport when the accident occurred.

The others suffered slight injuries, and two people were taken to a hospital, according to Bruno Charlot, the deputy prefect in Albertville, the nearest large town.

The accident occurred shortly before 1:00 a.m.

The tourists had just boarded the bus when the “driver got out of the vehicle following a technical incident,” Charlot told AFP.

“The bus then started to roll backwards, went down several meters over a very steep grassy slope and then tipped over and came to a halt when it hit a small stone building,” he said.

The girl ended up trapped underneath the bus.

Forty-five firefighters and 28 vehicles were involved in the rescue operation, emergency services said.

Are you relying on The Times of Israel for accurate and timely coverage of the Iran war right now? If so, please join The Times of Israel Community. For as little as $6/month, you will:

Support our independent journalists who are working around the clock under difficult conditions to cover this conflict;

Read ToI with a clear, ads-free experience on our site, apps and emails; and

Gain access to exclusive content shared only with the ToI Community, including weekly letters from founding editor David Horovitz.

We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.

You clearly find our careful reporting of the Iran war valuable, at a time when facts are often distorted and news coverage often lacks context.

Your support is essential to continue our work. We want to continue delivering the professional journalism you value, even as the demands on our newsroom have grown dramatically during this ongoing conflict.

So today, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. For as little as $6 a month you'll become our partners while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.

Thank you,David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel

1 In tense call, Vance knocked PM for overselling likelihood of Iran regime change — report

2 Katz warns strikes on Iran to intensify as regime keeps up missile fire at Israeli civilian areas

3 Israel bombs 2 IRGC-linked steel plants, 2 nuclear facilities as Iran vows revenge

4 One killed, several wounded in Iranian ballistic missile attack on central Israel

5 Mass cancellations as Arkia changes course, says long-haul flights to depart from Israel, not Jordan

6 187 years after deadly Iran pogrom, Mashhad crypto-Jews are focus of Jerusalem exhibit

7 ExplainerWhy Pakistan has emerged as a key mediator between US and Iran

8 US can only confirm a third of Iran’s missile, drone arsenal destroyed — report

© The Times of Israel