Church minibus crash leaves 13 dead, congregation in mourning

A fatal crash involving a church minibus and a truck in Texas has claimed 13 lives.

A Baptist church bus carrying 14 older women on the way back from a church retreat was involved in a head-on collision with a large pick-up truck at about 12.30pm yesterday, according to Sky News.

13 people have died and two have been injured in the collision. Authorities say it isn't clear why the truck driver would have driven into oncoming traffic.

Fourteen women, all over 55, from First Baptist Church, New Braunfels, had been on a retreat at Alto Frio Baptist Encampment. Only the truck driver and one bus passenger survived the crash. The names of the deceased have not yet been released.

'As a church, we're waiting for some official news from authorities before we can speak to anything,' said senior church pastor Brad McLean, according to Fox San Antonio.

He said the church family were 'coming together, they're crying together, praying together and of course there's anxiousness as to who was on the bus and what their condition is. There's just a lot of unknowns.'

McLean added: 'You never know what the day is going to bring. The Lord tells us that we have today, tomorrow is not promised.'

Another church member, Nancy Lacey, said: 'We know that everybody on that bus knew the Lord and we know we will be able to see them again.'

Hearing the news, the church cancelled all its events planned for the day and opened its building as a haven for prayer and consolation. It printed out a statement and placed it outside the church:

Texas governor Greg Abbott and his wife, Cecilia, offered their support in a statement. They said: 'We are saddened by the loss of life and our hearts go out to all those affected.

'We thank the first responders working on the scene in the wake of this unimaginable tragedy, and ask that all Texans join us in offering their thoughts and prayers.'