At least seven people died in the Russian city of St. Petersburg on Friday when a passenger bus they were riding in crashed into a number of vehicles and ultimately plunged into a river.
A viral video of the harrowing incident was caught by a nearby security camera and shows the bus was out of control as it veered into a retaining wall.
The bus then made a rightward U-turn and clipped two passenger cars before going over a bridge and into the water below:
At least 3 dead, several hospitalized after bus falls into river in St. Petersburg, Russia pic.twitter.com/8jo4ISnpbG
— BNO News (@BNONews) May 10, 2024
The bus was completely submerged in water in less than 10 seconds.
The Washington Post reported the bus crashed into the Moika River in the central part of Russia’s second-largest city.
A minimum of 15 people were on the bus when it entered the water and six of them were able to swim to the river bank on their own.
Other reports claimed as many as 20 people were on the bus.
Rescuers went into the waters for those who remained and initial reports stated three people were killed instantly.
Newsweek reported the death toll had climbed to seven people by late Friday in St. Petersburg.
The St. Petersburg Transport Committee claimed the driver of the bus “lost control” but did not say why.
“The bus spun, he broke through the fence and fell into the water. Emergency services personnel and an ambulance are working at the scene,” the committee told the local media.
The committee added, “All victims will be provided with the necessary assistance.”
The driver’s wife said he was detained by police quickly after the crash.
She complained he had reported to work Friday for a morning shift after having worked 20 hours the day before, the Post reported, citing Russian state media.
The Moscow Times reported the driver was arrested and faces up to seven years in prison if he is convicted of a crime.
The Russian news outlet Fontanka reported that some people who witnessed the crash immediately jumped into the water in an attempt to offer lifesaving aid.
A woman named Olga told the outlet, “They abandoned their cars, jumped out, everyone rushed into the water, no matter what.”
All search and rescue operations had concluded as of late Friday while divers were still attempting to retrieve the bus from the river.
The crash is under criminal investigation as is required by Russian law because more than two people died of what appeared to be negligence.
The Russian state news agency Tass reported a court in St. Petersburg handed down a fine of 400,000 rubles – or roughly the equivalent of $4,300 – to the bus’s owner Taxi LLC within hours of the crash
