A bus crashed near a ski resort in southern France killing 2 people and injuring at least 33

Local authorities say a bus has crashed near a ski resort in southern France, killing at least two people and injuring 33 others

MADRID -- A bus crashed Sunday evening near a ski resort in the Pyrenees mountains in southern France, killing at least two people and injuring 33 others, local authorities said.

A total of 47 people including the driver were on the bus when it crashed near the ski resort of Porte-Puymorens, the regional administration said. Seven people were in critical condition.

Local authorities said a preliminary investigation showed the bus ran into a cliff, but the exact circumstances were not immediately clear.

Images released by the local firefighter service showed the bus pressed against the side of a cliff, its right side partially crushed and windshield apparently knocked out.

More than 120 individuals were involved in the rescue effort, including from neighboring Catalonia in Spain and Andorra. Helicopters were also deployed.

France's Transport Minister François Durovray expressed his condolences in a post on X to the victims and their families.

The injured were evacuated to French hospitals in Toulouse, Perpignan and Foix and Puigcerda in Catalonia, local authorities said.

Catalonia's emergency services said on X that the bus originated from L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, outside Barcelona, Spain.