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Date Published: 26/12/2022
ARCHIVED - Christmas tragedy as bus falls off bridge in Spain, killing seven
A bus has fallen off the edge of a bridge and into a river in Pontevedra, leaving seven people dead and two injured
Christmas Eve in Spain’s northern region of Galicia was marred by a tragic accident after seven people died and two others were injured when the bus they were travelling on fell into the River Lérez in the locality of Cerdedo-Cotobade (Pontevedra province).
The bus belonging to the company Monbus was travelling on the Lugo-Vigo route late on Saturday December 24 and had just made its regular stop at the Monterroso (Lugo) penitentiary centre before it fell into the river.
Emergency teams managed to rescue the driver of the bus and one passenger, who are injured but alive. The other seven passengers all died.
Two people were confirmed dead immediately and early on Sunday December 25 the rescue teams found the third victim, a woman, inside the bus. At midday they found the fourth victim in the river downstream, near the point of the accident. A fifth fatality was later found in an area that was very difficult to access, and the sixth fatality was located shortly afterwards, on Sunday afternoon. A seventh body was recovered early on Monday morning, December 26.
The incident occurred at 9.19pm on Christmas Eve on the national road N-541, at kilometre 67.5, as it passes through the town of Pedre, in Cerdedo-Cotobade. The bus was carrying nine people, eight passengers and the driver, as confirmed by the government subdelegate in Pontevedra, Maica Larriba.
Rescue efforts were hindered by poor conditions, specifically the high flow of the Lérez river, with its strong current ensuring that the water level inside the vehicle had already reached the roof.
The first call to emergency services came from a private individual who saw the bridge’s protective barrier destroyed, but when he looked out over the edge he couldn’t see anything below.
However, minutes later a call came from inside the bus itself, which detailed what had happened and allowed the rescue operation to begin.
The Lérez river was swollen, above the overflow threshold, and continued to swell during the rescue work, which made it difficult during the night. In fact, the president of the Xunta de Galicia, Alfonso Rueda, pointed to the “very bad weather conditions” as one of the possible causes of the accident, which occurred on a straight road.
Firefighters from O Deza worked at the scene of the accident, lowered from a bridge with ropes and safety harnesses, and were later joined by firefighters from Pontevedra, together with the Supramunicipal Emergency Group of A Estrada, Civil Protection of Cerdedo-Cotobade, 061, the Guardia Civil de Tráfico and personnel from the Ministry of Transport.
The mayor of Cerdedo-Cotobade, Jorge Cubela, described the bus accident as “the greatest misfortune” that the municipality could suffer, as he told the media at the scene.
The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, also expressed his dismay at the tragedy in a message on social networks on Sunday: “Dismayed at the tragic accident in Pontevedra. All my affection for the families of the deceased and wishing the injured a speedy recovery.”
Sánchez also thanked the emergency teams for “their rescue and rescue work in such a complex situation”.
Images: 112 Galicia
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