9 die in bus accident in Albania

TIRANA, Nov. 8 – Authorities said that a bus traveling from the capital of Albania to Greece fell off a 100 meter cliff during a rainstorm on Monday, killing nine people and injuring 41.
Survivors claimed the driver had been talking on his mobile phone for much of the journey, and other passengers told local media he had been driving erratically.
The bus crashed in southern Albania at about 8 p.m. after the Greek bus driver lost control of the vehicle, according to an Albanian police statement.
Police spokeswoman Klejda Plangarica said nine people were dead and 41 injured, five of whom were in serious condition.
Two persons in serious health condition were sent for a more specialized treatment to the Greek hospital of Ioannina close to Albania’s southern border, the spokeswoman said.
About 100 police and firefighters were removing victims from the damaged bus in Ziaj village, 150 kilometers south of the capital Tirana.
Greek police said the bus belonged to a Greek long-distance bus company.
A day later police blamed the driver for the loss of control as the cause of the accident.
Bus technical parameters resulted correct and the Greek driver, Tomas Tsogas, has not been drunk, as some passengers claimed.
A police statement said “the cause of the accident has been the loss of control from the driver.”
The government on Tuesday canceled all festivities in the next 48 hours.