Rescue services were searching for survivors this Sunday after a bus fell into a river in northwest Spain on Christmas Eve. which left at least six dead.

According to local authorities, the accident occurred shortly before 21:30 on Saturday on a national highway in the municipality of Cerdedo-Cotobade, located in Galicia, near the border with Portugal.

In total, there were eight people on the bus that connected the city of Lugo with Vigo. Between them, two people were rescued and transferred in the hospital: the driver of the vehicle, in his sixties, and a woman.

According to rescue teams, who posted a picture of the submerged bus on Twitter at the bottom of a ravine in a river at least five people died among the trunks of the trees.

The victims

The first two victims were found in the night between Saturday and Sunday after the accident. The other three were located at the end of the morning near the remains of the vehicle.said the spokesman of the Guardia Civil.

According to the spokesman, still missing one or two people. “The number is still unknown” because the driver “has doubts” about the number of people who were on the bus at the time of the crash, he told AFP.

Authorities said the five deceased were a young woman of Peruvian nationalitywho cared for an elderly man in Galicia, and four Spanish nationals, residing in the region.

Among the passengers on the bus were people who were visiting relatives detained in Monterroso prison, located in central Galicia, on Christmas Eve, regional newspaper La Voz de Galicia reported.

A motorist raised the alarm after verifying that the safety barrier was destroyed on the bridge where the accident took place. Rescuers received a call from inside the bus, which allowed them to locate the vehicle.

The accident “is an absolute tragedy”, the mayor of Cerdedo-Cotobade, Jorge Cubela, told the media, underlining the “professionalism” of the rescuers deployed on the spot.

According to the authorities, the rescue operations have been complicated by heavy rains during the night, which caused an increase in the flow of the river, where the bus fell, but also the relief of the area.

30 meters

Under the bridge there is “a fairly wide gap” of “thirty meters”, confirmed the spokesman of the Guardia Civil. In a statement, rescuers said he also reached 75 meters.

The search work resumed this Sunday at dawn, with significant reinforcements, the Guardia Civil spokesman said. Among them, mountain rescue units, cavers and a helicopter.

An investigation has been opened to determine the causes of the accident, which are still unknown. According to the spokesman, the bus driver has experience behind the wheel and has also tested negative for alcohol and drugs.

“We still don’t know the causes with certainty”, but “it is true that the weather conditions were very bad yesterday (Saturday) night”, confirmed the president of the Galician community, Alfonso Rueda.

On Twitter, the leader of the People’s Party (right), Alberto Núñez Feijóo, originally from Galicia, expressed his “condolences to the families of the deceased” and thanked the work of the rescue teams.

Source: AFP and EFE

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