2 dead, 3 missing after bus plunges into Spain river

Pontevedra, Spain, Dec 25 (EFE).- Rescue teams were on Sunday searching for three people who are missing after a bus with at least seven people on board plunged into a river in northwest Spain late on Christmas Eve, killing at least two passengers.

The driver of the bus and a passenger have been rescued from the wreckage and taken to hospital, emergency services said.

The vehicle, which belongs to the company Monbus and was en route to Pontevedra, in Spain’s Galicia, veered off a bridge and fell into the Lérez river late Saturday.

The accident occurred at around 9.19pm and authorities were first alerted by a passerby who saw the destroyed railing on the side of the road, but who did not locate a vehicle in the water.

Minutes later, someone from inside the bus phoned the emergency services, which allowed the rescue operation to get underway.

The search for at least three people who are still missing was temporarily called off in the early hours of the morning due to adverse conditions as the river swelled but was resumed at 9.30am on Christmas morning.

Emergency services said a fourth person could have gone missing in the accident. EFE

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