Bus falls into a river in Spain and leaves six dead on Christmas Eve

Six people died this Saturday, on Christmas Eve, in an accident in the Galicia region, northwest of Spain, when a bus on the Lugo-Vigo route plunged into the river after leaving the road on a bridge.

The Lérez river, where the bus fell, was swollen, above the overflow threshold. The seven passengers and the driver of the vehicle fell 75 meters from the road.

The vehicle fell off a bridge on the highway, the N-541, near the town of Pedre (kilometre point 67.5), within the municipality of Cerdedo-Cotobade and about 34 kilometers from the city of Pontevedra.

The first alert to the authorities after the accident was from a private car that saw the protection barrier destroyed, but leaned over the bridge and was unable to see anything. Minutes later, a call came from inside the bus itself, detailing what had happened and allowing the rescue operation to begin.

The rescue authorities, Emergency, Civil Protection, Traffic Civil Guard and personnel from the Ministry of Transport arrived at the scene and located the first two dead from the tragedy.

After suspending the rescue operations due to the current and flow of the river, the firefighters resumed the search early this Sunday and found the third body inside the bus.

The other three bodies were found hours later in the river, downstream from where the incident occurred.

The emergency services report that the driver and a passenger were found alive, and thus the search ended. The driver was transferred last night to the Clinical Hospital of Santiago, and the passenger who was saved, to Montecelo in Pontevedra.

According to the president of Galicia, Alfonso Rueda, the accident could have been caused by “very bad” weather conditions. (YO)