Horror as bus plunges into River Seine with passengers on board | World | News

A bus plunged into a major river in France on Thursday after hitting a parked car that also went in the water.

This morning (8.30am UK time) a bus with four people on board plunged into the River Seine in the town of Juvisy after a trainee driver reportedly made an error. The people on the bus included the driver, an instructor, and two passengers, who were all rescued, while it is understood no one was in the parked car.

According to local reports, the vehicles entered the Seine near the Quai Jean-Pierre Timbaud.

A team of divers attended and searched the vehicle. The team later confirmed no one was trapped inside. The French First Army Bridge was also at the scene.

The mayor of Juvisy, Lamia Bensarsa Reda, said she was “stunned” by the accident. “It’s the first time I’ve seen anything like this. I think I’ve just experienced the worst day of my life. Luckily, there were no casualties thanks to the quick response of the police and emergency services,” she also said speaking to French newspaper Le Parisien.

“Our municipal police officers are on site to keep the very congested traffic flowing as smoothly as possible around the Seine riverbanks,” the elected official continued. In a press release, Île-de-France Mobilités “is asking its operator to launch an internal investigation to determine the causes of this accident as quickly as possible,” she added.

According to the latest information, the car and then the bus should be pulled from the water later today, and initial operations to remove the first vehicle are scheduled to begin around midday.