A tragic accident claimed the lives of a couple aged 90 and 85, while five young people aged between 17 and 19 perished in a vehicle fire, according to information provided to H24 NEWS by the department’s prefecture

A tragic accident early on Tuesday evening near Chartres killed seven people and injured two others, one of them seriously, according to information from the fire brigade and the Eure-et-Loir prefecture reported to AFP.

Three vehicles were involved in this incident on the RD 921 at Bailleau-le-Pin. Five young people aged between 19 and 20 died in the car fire, while a couple aged 90 and 85 were killed in the initial impact. Frédéric Blanc, chief of staff to the Eure-et-Loir prefect, explained that the first vehicle, carrying the five young people, collided with another oncoming vehicle containing the elderly couple. The first vehicle then collided with a third oncoming vehicle, causing a fatal fire for its occupants.

In the third vehicle, a 23-year-old woman and a 21-year-old man were injured, one of them seriously, and were taken to Chartres hospital.

The Eure-et-Loir prefecture announced on its Twitter account that traffic on the D921 was being halted in both directions to allow rescue operations to take place, urging people to avoid the area so as not to interfere with ongoing operations.