PARIS, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) — At least four students were killed and 24 others seriously wounded, including 21 students, as a train collided with a school bus in southern France on Thursday.

"There are 24 people seriously wounded. Of these 24, 21 are middle school students," said Philippe Vignes, an official with the county of Pyrenees-Orientales where the accident took place.

The accident took place at about 16:00 local time (1500 GMT) at a railroad crossing in the southern town of Millas, when a TER train struck the back part of the school bus which was transporting students aged 13 to 17 years old, BFMTV said.

The school bus was cut in half with the collision, according to French media.

"All my thoughts for the victims of this terrible crash of a school bus and for their families," French President Emmanuel Macron said on Twitter.