A bus has crashed in eastern France, officials have said, with “several victims”.

The incident happened on Friday morning in the town of Lent, north-east of Lyon, around 34 miles (55km) from the border with Switzerland.

The town’s mayor Yves Cristin told French media the bus “left the road and hit a tree in the ditch”, while the Ain prefecture and education minister said there were “several victims”.

French education minister Édouard Geffray said the crash involved students, while transport minister Philippe Tabarot said he was on his way to the scene.

Geffray told reporters his thoughts were with “students involved in the accident” and that it was “always difficult when our children are victims of accidents of this nature”.

Photos circulating in French media show a blue and white bus tilted in what appears to be a ditch on the roadside. Trees line the side of the road.

The front of the bus appears to be heavily damaged.

Emergency services are at the scene and a helicopter has been deployed to take victims with serious injuries to a specialised hospital.

Cristin told French media two people were in cardiac arrest.

The crash happened at around 07:00 local time (06:00 GMT).

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