Seven dead after bus plunges from bridge into river on Christmas Eve

Two people were injured when the bus fell from the bridge into the Lerez River in Galicia.

Seven dead after bus plunges from Spanish bridge into river on Christmas Eve iStock

Spanish authorities said they have recovered another body after a bus plunged 30 metres (100ft) from a bridge into a river on Christmas Eve, raising the toll of the fatal crash to seven dead and two injured.

The search was resumed when a surviving passenger said that the middle-aged woman she was travelling with was still missing, according to the Galician government’s delegate Jose Minones.

The initial search for eight instead of nine people was based on the statement of the driver – the other survivor.

Spanish authorities say the causes of the fall of the bus from the bridge are still unclear, although the bad weather that night has been suggested as a likely cause by regional president Alfonso Rueda.

The driver tested negative for alcohol and drugs.

The blue roof of the half-sunken vehicle could be seen in the Lerez river below the bridge.

Authorities say they will try to drag it from the water on Tuesday.

The crash happened on the night of Christmas Eve in the mountainous north-western Galicia region.

Emergency services were alerted by a motorist who saw the broken railing on the bridge as he drove in heavy rain.

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