Two survivors - the vehicle's 63-year-old driver and a female passenger - were pulled out of the river by firefighters with rope


Madrid: Six people died and two were injured after a passenger bus careened off a bridge and plunged into an overflowing river in northwestern Spain, emergency services said on Sunday.
Two survivors - the vehicle's 63-year-old driver and a female passenger - were pulled out of the river by firefighters with rope and taken to nearby hospitals with varying degrees of injury.
The driver tested negative for alcohol and drugs, a police spokesperson told Reuters.
The spokesperson added that the search-and-rescue operation around the bridge had now concluded, while engineers attempted to find a way to safely recover the wreckage from the river Lerez.
The river's strong current and high flow due to heavy rains sweeping the Galicia region hampered efforts to retrieve the bodies throughout the weekend.
The coach from the company Monbus was travelling between the cities of Lugo and Vigo on Saturday night and had stopped at a penitentiary centre near the site of the accident.
It skidded off a straight road on the bridge for reasons that remain unclear and plunged into the water in a fall of at least 40 metres (131 feet) at around 9.30 p.m. local time (2030 GMT).
Emergency services were first alerted by a call from a passerby who noticed the bridge's protective barrier had been severely damaged. Shortly afterwards, they received a second call from inside the bus as it was filling up with water.
The river remained above its overflow threshold throughout the night, forcing emergency rescue workers to suspend the operation for nearly two hours before resuming in the morning.
Authorities at first reported a total of nine people onboard the bus when it fell, based on the driver's testimony, though the count is now believed to have been eight based on missing person reports filed by relatives.
The regional president of Galicia, Alfonso Rueda, pointed to the "very bad" weather conditions as one of the possible causes of the accident.
SOURCE: REUTERS

NEPRA announces Rs1.83 per unit cut in electricity prices
- 3 hours ago
Google introduces AI-based features to protect users from online fraud
- 5 hours ago

IMF approves $1bn loan for Pakistan
- 4 hours ago
Lahore airport reopens after brief closure amid red alert
- 7 hours ago

Indian drones targeted Nankana Sahib, attack foiled: DG ISPR
- 4 hours ago
China advises citizens to stay cautious amid rising Pakistan-India tensions
- 7 hours ago
Punjab launches province-wide civil defense training initiative
- 3 hours ago
Pakistani hackers launch 'Operation Salar' in response to Indian cyber attacks
- 6 hours ago
Saudi minister arrives in Islamabad amid Pakistan-India tensions
- 6 hours ago

DG ISPR briefs int’l media on Pakistan-Indian tensions
- 5 hours ago

Ukraine arrests ex-soldiers accused of spying for Hungary
- 3 hours ago
PCB suspends remaining PSL 10 matches on PM’s advice
- 5 hours ago